10+Essay+Question

Describe psychosurgery, and include a discussion of lobotomy.
Name: Micah



Psychosurgery is a type of surgery which has drawn controversy due to the fact that it irreversibly removes or destroys brain tissue. It is the least-used biomedical process for altering behavior due to its drastic results. Psychosurgery usually targets the limbic system due to its role in regulating emotions. Egas Moniz was the first to practice psychosurgery with his development of the leucotomy, later known to many as the lobotomy. By taking a thin, long instrument and through both eye sockets to the brain of a comatose patient and severing connections running up to the frontal lobes, Moniz was able to easily turn patients from an emotionally violent and turbulent state to a calmer state. After 35,000 people in the United States had been lobotomized, Moniz was awarded the nobel prize for his efforts. The medical incision, however, had some serious side-effects. This state was more than just calm, it was apathetic and inactive; patients showed little passion, interest or enthusiasm for anything after their lobotomy. With the introduction of calming drugs the practice of psychosurgery and lobotomy was all but deserted, with psychosurgery only used today in rare and extreme cases.

Citations:

Myers, David G. Psychology. 7th ed. New York: Worth, 2007. Print.

"Psychosurgery." //Wikipedia //. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

Image Citation:

Psychosurgical Lobotomy. Digital image. //Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders //. Advameg, Inc., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.