What is Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation (CES)?
What does CES feel like?
Can I use it while I sleep?
How does CES work?
What is CES used for?
Is CES dangerous?
Bibliography

What is Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation?

CES (Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation) is a process which utilizes minute electrical stimulation for therapeutic treatment of anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

What does CES feel like?

Applied through electrodes to the area between the mastoids and the jaw, the sensation felt by the individual is normally one of relaxation.

Can I use it while I sleep? If there is high stress or anxiety just prior to treatment, the individual may go to sleep while using CES, particularly if in a reclining chair or bed. Sleep at the time of application is not required to benefit from CES, although individuals frequently report an improvement in the quality of their night time sleep.

How does CES work?

As with a number of medicines, the mechanism of action (how it works) of CES is not fully understood. Research has led to the hypothesis that it has a mild effect on the hypothalmic area of the brain. Researchers also have noticed rapid increases in serotonin, also associated with relaxation and calmness, and decreases in cortisol, one of the primary stress-related biochemicals. Interestingly, CES also increases levels of norepinephrine and dopamine, both associated with alertness and feelings of pleasure. This may be why so many CES users report feeling both relaxed and alert.

What is CES used for?

CES was originally developed in the Soviet Union in 1949, it's primary focus being the treatment of sleep disorders, hence it's initial designation as "electrosleep." Treatment of insomnia, however, has been overshadowed by psychiatric application for depression and anxiety.

Is CES dangerous?

No negative effects or major contraindications have been found from the use of CES to date, either in the US or other parts of the world.

Bibliography

Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation as a Treatment for Anxiety in Chemically Dependent Persons, Richard Schmitt, PhD, Thomas Capo, BS, Elvin Boyd, MD, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol. 10, No. 2, 158-160, 1986.

Cranial Electrical Stimulation - CES Reduces Anxiety and Depression, Focus on Alcohol and Drug Issues, Vol. 6, No.1, 1983.

Low Intensity Transcranial Electrostimulation Improves Human Learning of a Psychomotor Task, Richard E. Madden, Ph.D., M.S.W.; & Daniel L. Kirsch, Ph.D., American Journal of Electromedicine, 1987.

The Use of Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation in Post-Traumatic Amnesia: A Report of Two Cases, Allen Childs, M.D., M. Lynn Crismon, Pharm.D., Brain Injury, Vol. 2, No. 3, 243-247, 1988.

Confirming Evidence of an Effective Treatment for Brain Dysfunction in Alcoholic Patients, Ray B. Smith, Ph.D., M.P.A, Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease, Vol. 170, No. 5, 275-277, 1982.

Depression: A Diagnostic, Neurochemical Profile & Therapy with Cranial Electrical Stimulation (CES), C. Norman Shealy, Roger Cady, Robert Wilkie, Richard Cox, Saul Liss, William Clossen, The Journal of Neurological & Orthopaedic Medicine & Surgery, Vo. 10, No. 4, 319-321, 1989.

Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation Treatment of Cognitive Brain Dysfunction in Chemical Dependence, Richard Schmitt, Ph.D., Thomas Capo, Hal Frazier, M.D., Darrell Boren, J Clin Psychiatry, Vol 45: 60-63, 1984.

New Treatments Offer Hope for Agitated Brain Syndrome, Allen Childs, M.D., The Psychiatric Times, Medicine & Behavior, September 1988.

Electrosleep in the Management of Alcoholism, Ray B. Smith, Lois O'Neill, Biological Psychiatry, Vol. 10, No. 6, 675-679, 1975.

Effects of Transcerebral Electrotherapy (Electrosleep) on State Anxiety According to Suggestibility Levels, Joseph J. Ryan, Gary T. Souheaver, Biological Psychiatry, Vol. 11, No. 2, 233-237, 1976.

Electrosleep (Electrical Transcranial Stimulation) in the Treatment of Anxiety, Depression and Sleep Disturbance in Chronic Alcoholics, Richard E. McKenzie, Raymond M. Costello, J. Altered States of Consciousness, Vol. 2 (2), 185-195, 1975-76.

Changes in Urinary Free Catecholamines and 17-Ketosteroids with Cerebral Electrotherapy (Electrosleep), David F. Briones, M.D., Saul H. Rosenthal, M.D., University of Texas Medical School at San Antonia, Texas, 57-58, 1973.

Intracerebral Current Levels in Man During Electrosleep Therapy, A. M. Dymond, R. W. Coger, E.A. Serafetinides, Biological Psychiatry, Vol. 10, No. 1, 101-104, 1975.

Treatment of Methadone Withdrawal with Cerebral Electrotherapy (Electrosleep), Evaristo Gomez, Adib R. Mikhail, Brit J. Psychiat., Vol. 134, 111-113, 1978.

Electrosleep, A Preliminary Communication, Saul H. Rosenthal, M.D., Norman L. Wulfsohn, M.D., The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 151, No. 2, 146-151, 1970.

Electrosleep: Personal Subjective Experiences, Saul H. Rosenthal, Lynn F. Calvert, Biological Psychiatry, Vol. 4, No. 2, 187-190, 1972.

The Effects of Cerebral Electrotherapy on Short-Term Memory Impairment in Alcoholic Patients, Ray B. Smith, Eleanor Day, The International Journal of the Addictions, Vol 12 (4). 575-582, 1977.

The Effects of Electrosleep on Insomnia Revisited, Rosalind Dymond Cartwright, Ph.D., Marc F. Weiss, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 161, No. 2, 134-137, 1975.

The Treatment of Insomnia Through the Use of Electrosleep: An EEG Study, Marc F. Weiss, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, Vol. 157, No. 2, 108-120, 1973.

Studies of Electrosleep with Active and Simulated Treatment, Saul H. Rosenthal, M.D., Norman L. Wulfsohn, M.D., Current Therapeutic Research, Vol. 12, No. 3, 126-130, 1970.