Lobotomies Essay

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The Impact of Lobotomies on Neurology
The human brain is an organ that we all possess, even if it does not always seem like it. Regardless of race, gender, or political stance, everyone has a brain. The brain is the most important organ we have, as it defines who we are, what we do and remember. The rain is responsible for all of our experiences and is, of course, very delicate. To care for problems that can happen with this complex body part, we have doctors who specialize in neurology or the study of the brain. At one time it was a common practice to mutilate parts of people’s brains in hopes that they would recover from some ailment. By studying the types of neurologists and common problems that they face, the procedure, causes and downfall …show more content…

Lobotomy is an “umbrella term” for a type of surgery that involved “severing connections in the prefrontal cortex” (Lewis). This was done a number of ways, including using an ice pick to physically rip the brain, ethanol to destroy the fibers connecting the brain, and removing entire portions of the brain (The Surprising History of Lobotomies). They were mainly performed in the 1950s and 1960s, after Moniz received the a Nobel Prize. Most were performed in westernized countries with around 50,000 performed in the US alone (Lewis). This is significant because this shows that they were a common practice and were at one point considered state of the art. One of the earliest techniques developed by Egas Moniz, was criticized by his colleagues, despite have a reported fifty percent success rate, and for good reason. The process often destroyed one’s personality, and had a number of side effects (Lewis). Theses side effects included an increased body temperature, vomiting, bladder or bowel problems and abnormal sensation of hunger, and more (Lewis). The process involved drilling holes in the patient's head and pouring the chemical, ethanol, into the hole in order to destroy the fibers connecting the frontal cortex to the rest of the brain (Lewis). The preferred method for alter one's personality was the trans orbital lobotomy, or ice pick lobotomy, developed by …show more content…

“Epilepsy by the Numbers.” Healthline.com, 20 Oct. 2014, https://www.healthline.com/health/epilepsy/facts-statistics-infographic
“How to become a Neurologist.” RCS Diagnostic Services, http://www.rscdiagnosticservices.com/blog/how-to-become-a-neurologist. Accessed 7 Nov. 2017.
Lewis, Tonya. “Lobotomy, Definition, Procedure, History.” Live Science, 28 Aug. 2014. https://www.livescience.com/42199-lobotomy-definition.html
“Neurologist: What to Learn” CFNC.org, https://www1.cfnc.org/Plan/For_A_Career/Career_Profile/Career_Profile.aspx?id=EZgWqMw5RM06WC3p8jOZGAXAP3DPAXXAP3DPAX&screen=4. Accessed 7 Nov. 2017.
“Stroke Symptoms Prevention and Clinics.” Department of Neurology, https://med.uth.edu/neurology/specialty-programs/ut-stroke/stroke-symptoms-prevention-and-background/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2017.
“The Lobotomy of Patient HM.” NPR, 14 Aug. 2016. https://www.npr.org/2016/08/14/489997276/how-patient-h-m-and-his-lobotomy-contributed-to-understanding-memories
“The Surprising History of Lobotomies.” World of Psychology, https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/03/21/the-surprising-history-of-the-lobotomy/. Accessed 14 Nov.

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