lobotomy...what does it do?

It cuts a part of your brain.. It was done as a cure for schizophrenia and other mental disorders I think. It worked.

Only thing was, it destroyed more than just the disorder.

It cuts a part of your brain.. It was done as a cure for schizophrenia and other mental disorders I think. It worked.

Only thing was, it destroyed more than just the disorder.

To say it "worked" is to use a very, very loose definition of the word. I guess it's just a lot harder to express how hallucinations are bugging you when you can't think. Totally inhuman

ah okay thanks...seems completely unethical to me, I pondered over this question after I finished watching the movie shutter island

I only meant it in a very loose definition of the word. 'It worked' in the same way as a cure for Restless Leg Syndrome would be to cut off your legs. Well, it stops the symptoms, doesn't it?!

Yes, it is completely unethical. Unfortunately, they only realised this after having done 10s of 1000s of operations to people for a variety of reasons.

yeah, that's true.

Sorry, I wasn't really attacking you, maybe I phrased it wrong, I just kind of confirming that you actually knew what it did.

Not really. They were doing them way up until the first antipsychotic meds were available.

Then it was me who phrased it wrong - I knew you weren't attacking me, obviously it didn't look like I knew that xD


Ouch.. What really sucks about the whole lobotomy issue is that you are dealing with people with mental disorders - who often therefore aren't so able to stand up for themselves. If they try, people can just ignore them because they are just 'the crazy guy'. It was a terrible situation, once again in this thread I mention One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. That film is almost all I know about this period of time and lobotomy :P

Although I saw it a few years ago, I swear there is no reference to lobotomy in this film???

Watch shutter island though! That film is immense.

A few (about 15/year in the UK is a figure I've seen quoted, for 2001) are still carried out, though it's a less drastic prefrontal leucotomy. It was horribly misused in the past but it's not inherently unethical any more than any other treatment, though the fact that the consequences are permanent means that it's inappropriate for any but the most severe illness. It can only be used with the patient's consent and if recommended by two independent psychiatrists, a higher hurdle than for any other treatment.

Cinematic portrayals of psychiatric treatment can be very engaging but can depict treatments very emotively - electroconvulsive therapy for example can be extremely effective for severe depression, but people are put off by its negative portrayal (which do in turn reflect misuse in the past). It's ECT in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest IIRC, not psychosurgery.