Lobotomies used to be a horrific way that doctors tried to treat patients with mental illness. Doctors thought those with mental illness had abnormal neural connections so severing them may help. More ...

Lobotomy is a surgical procedure performed on the brain. The brain has several lobes, each with different functions. The frontal lobe was the part of the brain targeted in the standard lobotomy ...

In the early 20th century we had very little understanding of mental illness and how to treat it. Into this knowledge vacuum stepped Walter Freeman, a charismatic American neurologist with a bold ...

Mental health professionals often feel helpless in the face of another’s extreme suffering. But we must exercise caution to ensure our interventions don’t inadvertently inflict additional pain. A ...

In the U.S., lobotomies are no longer used as surgery to treat psychiatric problems. Some other types of psychosurgery are still performed when other treatments have failed. Few medical procedures in ...