Prefrontal Lobotomy Analysis

There was still a large lack of understanding that what caused mental illness the 1930’s, however people still wanted to treat mental illness so this brought more therapeutic ideas on how to cure it. In 1933, two neurologists at Yale Primate Laboratory, Dr. Fulton and Jacobson, performed experiments on two monkeys. They tested the intelligence of the monkeys before and after the removal of half the brains’ frontal lobes. They seemed to retain their skills and intelligence. Fulton and Jacobson wanted to take this a little further, they removed the other half of the frontal lobe. They discovered that the monkeys no longer became violent and frustrated when they didn't immediately get their treats after completing the intelligence test [9].

The two psychological interventions that were administered to McMurphy while in the mental institution were a lobotomy and shock therapy. A lobotomy is the removal of the portion from the frontal lobe of the brain. This procedure’s main goal is to eliminate aggressive or violent behavior. This invention took place in 1935 by Dr. Antonio Egas Moniz. However, by the late 1940s the realization those individuals undergoing lobotomy procedures took place without initiative became apparent. Although the methods of a lobotomy have changed the basic underlying idea of neurosurgery exists today in the form of “psychosurgery” (Encarta 2000). Shock Therapy uses electric current or drugs to control psychotic disorders. In 1933, Dr. Manfred Sakel used drugs and instituted insulin shock to control mainly Schizophrenia. In 1938, Drs. U. Cerletti and L. Bini used electroshock therapy to treat severe depression (i.e. manic depressive psychoses). Alternating current through the brain using parallel

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, treatments were usually inadequate for people with severe depression. As a result, many desperate people were treated with lobotomy, a surgical operation involving incision into the prefrontal lobe of the brain, which had become a popular “calming” treatment at the time. Lobotomies were often unsuccessful, causing personality changes, inability to make decisions, and poor judgement; or even worse, coma and sometimes death. A popular treatment for schizophrenics called Electroconvulsive therapy, was also used as a treatment for depressed

This surgery was founded by Portuguese doctor Egas Moniz. He learned of two Chimpanzees who had their frontal lobes removed in order to change their emotions and actions. So he came up with the idea that this must be tried on humans with mental disorders to see if it can cure them. A separation tool was made and Dr. Moniz began doing frontal lobotomies at the “Libson Insane Asylum” (Harriet Hall 2015.) Dr. Moniz began to notice that his patients began to act “more docile and seemingly content” (Harriet Hall 2015.) These actions were complete opposites from their original actions of rage and violence. So without any further studies Dr. Moniz would publisher his work winning him a Nobel Prize in medicine and he became critically acclaimed with this work. At the time the Nobel Prize committee claimed it to be “the most important discovery ever made” pertaining to psychiatric therapy (Harriet Hall 2015.) due to its limited time of research the horrible side effects were never addressed till after the multiple procedures were done. The case of Bennie Sternberg being a prime example. Bennie suffered from schizophrenia and would sometimes act out in fits of anger. The Sternberg family was more or less pressured into having Bennie go through the surgery. Post-surgery Bennie was not the same. His family would account that Bennie “did not speak a word” he would “barely move” (Harriet Hall 2015.) He

During the early to mid 20th century, not much was known about mental illnesses or what caused them, which was the way it had been for many years before. One of the somewhat common perceptions about mental illness was that these disorders were caused by possession or negative spirits. This can be most likely be attributed to the wide influence of the catholic church and the belief that exorcisms or psychosurgery could possibly cure incurable or intractable mental illnesses. Psychosurgery developed into the more common procedure known as a lobotomy, where the connections between the prefrontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex are cut with the intention of freeing the patient from delusions and side effects of other mental illnesses. Lobotomies began as a surgical procedure which needed to be performed in an operating room, as it required holes to be drilled through the scalp and into the skull. This meant that though the procedure was seen to show some

Walter Freeman. He believed there was something physically wrong with the brain that causes various mental illnesses. In this sense, a person was born with the illness rather than developing it over time. Many people agreed with him as they beleived that mental illnesses were just like any other illness. This breakthrough came in the form of a lobotomy, where Dr. Freeman would cut open the forehead and attempt to fix the cerebral flaw. This eventually evolved into the transorbital lobotomy, a procedure in which he inserted a pick through the orbital cavity, (the holes in which the eyes lay) since this cavity led to a direct line to the brain. The doctor would the poke and prod at the brain until he felt that he had corrected the issue. Initially, this procedure worked spectacularly, the public viewed Dr. Freeman’s procedure as a miracle, but this ballyhoo did not last long. Although it is true that the lobotomy offered a permanent cure for a select few, the vast majority experienced a relapse, that is, they returned to their initial behavior which prompted the lobotomy in the first place. There were even some patients who were permanently changed for the worse. These patients woke up from the procedure and were generally unresponsive, they didn't want to do anything, the lobotomy, and Dr. Freeman, had turned them into a shell of their former selves.

Howard should not have received the Lobotomy because the Lobotomy is a horrifying procedure. Lobotomies cause a person to be in a zombie like state, violent tendencies, and memory loss. So this is not a safe procedure.

According to Lombroso his theories were sparked by an autopsy of a criminal in an insane asylum. He discovered an abnormality that he deemed to be common with lower animals. Lombroso is quoted as saying, “At the sight of that skull, I seemed to see all of a sudden (…) the problem of the nature of the criminal – an atavistic being who reproduces in his person the ferocious instincts of primitive humanity and the inferior animals.” By modern standards Lombroso’s sweeping generalizations would be regarded as crude at best. However, Lombroso did indicate many symptoms of mental illness as possible indicators of “born criminality.” The epileptic and the insane were a subset within Lombroso’s “born criminal.” Many of his assertions on the attributes of criminals were wildly off base, however he did bring a focus onto the biological and away from the soul as the reason for deviance. His assumptions spread far and wide throughout the nineteenth century; for example during a trial in Ohio a housekeeper’s head was measured to see whether or not she should be charged with the poisoning of a young boy. Lombroso himself performed thousands of autopsies and examined many a brain. His theories inspired a craze for dissection and understanding of the brain.

After watching the videos on lobotomy and the treatment of those with mental illnesses and after reading chapter 1, I definitely have some mixed reactions.

Conversely, this last ditch effort was being overseen by government appointed psychiatrists who believed the only way to treat Laeddis and remove the threat he presented of harming other people, was to lobotomize him. Subsequent developments in psychiatric treatment have proven that the destruction of brain tissue does not remediate this kind of mental illness or justify this barbaric and maiming procedure (Raz 2008; Johnson 2011).

Creating the world's first Z-Bomb, would have to be the most dangerous thing that could happen to humans. Turning them into Zombies, it would entirely change the characteristics of a human being and its brain. Although both living, Zombies have drastic defects towards certain aspects of the body. This Z-bomb won’t necessarily turn humans into zombies, but rather give humans zombie-ish characteristics.

1. Era I – “Mechanical Medicine” began in the 1860’s. Its focus is on surgical procedures and drugs. The thought was that health and illness are only physical in nature and consciousness is equated to functioning of the brain. Era I thinking in displayed in review of psychiatric care in the early 1900 with the use of frontal lobotomies to cure hysteria. The thought was that performing a surgical procedure on the brain will remove the area that is causing the Hysteria. Era I focuses on performing a procedure or providing a medication to fix the body physically, while Era III takes into account the patients perception of health, their stats of mind and their support

Over the years, brain surgery has evolved substantially. Looking into multiple types of surgery, surgery is able to be quite unusual. Humans will cut into each other a lot of times in order to get rid of deadly disease and even just to remove excess body fat. The reality that we do not marvel about these on a daily basis shows how advanced surgery has grown over the years. Surgery is a safer and more reliable tool including a necessary component of health care. Previously, the surgeries themselves were brutal from lack of understandings toward anesthesia and none of the tools accessible today with operations forced and traumatic. With the present tools through surgery, brain surgery has changed greatly. This article chosen was aligning with