The First Radiolab
Radiolab
00:00
Electroshock Treatment - A Blood Pressure Cough
The e c t machine, or thymatron box, is said to be the catalac of electro shock devices. Front panel are five knobs, including one that controls the voltage and a yellow button labelled treatment. Two cables come out of the back, attached to two paddles that look like they're from an old crank telephone hand set. When the electricity passes through my head, my body tenses and my face grimaces. My right foot, the one with the blood pressure cuff, twitches, which means the electrical charge has caused a seizure. And the whole point of the procedures ondu say, a seizure that lasts between 20 and forty seconds.
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