T.I.P - Insane Asylums

"LOBOTOMY"

Lobotomy is a neurosurgical procedure where a surgical incision is made into the frontal lobe of the brain to sever one or more nerve tracts; formerly used to treat certain mental disorders but is now rarely performed.

Dr. Walter Freeman (left) and Dr. James W. Watts studies an X-ray before a psychosurgical operation.

Also known as Leukotomy or Leucotomy, the procedure involves cutting or scraping away most of the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain. 

As controversial as it is, lobotomy was a mainstream procedure in some Western countries for more than two decades despite general recognition of frequent and serious side effects. 

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While some patients experienced symptomatic improvement with the operation, this was achieved at the cost of creating other impairments and this balance between benefits and risks contributed to the controversial nature of the procedure.

The originator of the procedure, the Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz, shared the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine of 1949 for the "discovery of the therapeutic value of leucotomy in certain psychoses", although the awarding of the prize has been subject to controversy.

António Egas Moniz

The use of the procedure increased dramatically from the early 1940s and into the 1950s; by 1951, almost 20,000 lobotomies had been performed in the United States. Following the introduction of antipsychotic medications in the mid-1950s, lobotomies underwent a gradual but definite decline.