The History of the Lobotomy
Lobotomy is defined as a type of brain surgery that involves the removal of a portion of the brain. The method of performing a lobotomy varies, but lobotomies are generally performed by severing the connections in the brain leading to the prefrontal cortex. The historical purpose of lobotomies included the treat of various forms of mental illness. Later, the use of lobotomies expanded to include the treatment of chronic pain.
The history of lobotomies dates back as early as the 1800's. Friederich Golz removed the temporal lobes of dogs' brains, essentially performing the first lobotomy on canines. He reported a marked change in their behavior. The dogs who had received lobotomies were reported to be calmer than those who had not undergone surgery, even if the lobotomized dogs had previously exhibited behavior problems. Even the most aggressive of the animals was said to have been tamed by the procedure.
Gottlieb Burkhardt was the first to experiment with human lobotomies. Burkhardt ran a Swiss insane asylum, and attempted a lobotomy with little medical training on schizophrenic patients. Although Burkhardt claimed the procedure was relatively successful and that the lobotomies aided in treating schizophrenia, since one of the patients conditions improved, two of the patients died from the lobotomies and the medical community did not embrace the medical procedure.
- Lobotomy and Schizophrenia
- Effects of Lobotomy on Schizophrenia
- Lobotomy and its Application to Neuroscience
Dr. Carlyle Jacobsen and Dr. John Fulton, subsequently revived interest in lobotomies by performing lobotomies on chimpanzees in which they damaged the chimps frontal and prefrontal cortexes. Fulton considered his experiment a success when a chimp whose cortexes had been removed proved unable to experience neurosis. Fulton shared these apparently positive results with the scientific community at large.
Egas Moniz, graduate of the University of Lisbon Medical School heard of the success of lobotomies on chimps, and decided to experiment with the use of lobotomies in the treatment of paranoia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Since both paranoia and obsessive compulsive disorder were caused by recurring thoughts etching patterns in the brain, Moniz reasoned that by severing the connection to the prefrontal cortex, lobotomies could cure paranoia and obsessive disorder by eliminating the patterns.
Moniz and Dr. Ameida Lima developed a surgical procedure called a leukotomy, a version of the lobotomy specifically designed to treat paranoia and obsessive compulsive disorder by severing the relevant connections in the brain. The leukotomy procedure involved inserting a flat wire knife into holes drilled in the patients skull, and moving the knife to sever the nerves.
Moniz declared leukotomy successful, since some patients improved. However, other patients were not helped by leukotomy, and Moniz urged that lobotomies were a last resort. However, Walter Freeman and James Watts were also experimenting with lobotomies simultaneously, and performed the first lobotomy on an American patient in 1936.
Watts and Freeman found lobotomies effective, and urged widespread medical acceptance of the procedure. They traveled the country, performing lobotomies at insane asylums and hospitals throughout America. As they performed lobotomies, they streamlined the surgical technique and eventually created the ice pick lobotomy, which involved the use of an ice pick to create holes in the skull.
The popularity of lobotomies grew during this time, and the majority of lobotomies were performed between 1939 and 1951. The exact number of lobotomies performed is not known but it is speculated that more than 50,000 lobotomies were performed in the United States alone, since many considered lobotomies an efficient method for dealing with the rise of mental illness following WWII.
The use of lobotomies as a widespread medical practice began to die out in the 1970's when lobotomies were reclassified as experimental surgery in the United States. Other countries followed suit, declaring lobotomies unsound treatments for mental illness. Now, although modified leukotomys are still used as treatment for some mental illnesses, lobotomies are rarely performed.
