Emphasizing the involvement of plasticity in the treatment of depression, studies on ECT and electroconvulsive shock (ECS; i.e., an animal model of ECT) showed that repeated ECT/ECS partially reverses the relatively high and low BDNF levels found in the amygdala and hippocampus, respectively, of depressed patients (19–24). The gene discussed is BDNF; the disease is depressive symptom measurement.