Cutting the mind

Psychosurgery refers to the treatment of psychiatric disorders by means of brain surgery. Over the past centuries there has been much controversy regarding psychosurgery. The early decades of the twentieth century witnessed a revolution in the understanding of the functioning of the brain and its role in mental disorders. In psychiatry probably no other word has a more negative connotation than the word 'lobotomy'. In the years around 1930, psychosurgical procedures were developed and conducted in patients suffering from severe psychiatric disorders. In their desperation, many clinicians tended to resort to extreme expedients. The results of these interventions were irreversible and the consequences often catastrophic. However, one should be aware that at that time, conditions of indescribable misery prevailed in asylums, without any hope for a cure. The appearance of psychotropic drugs during the 1950s and the bad reputation of the lobotomy resulted in a steady reduction in the number of neurosurgical procedures.