psychosurgery and effectiveness

Question 1

Who is the pioneer of early psychosurgery and what did he believe?

Answer 1

-Egas Moniz
-He believed that the removal of the frontal lobes would
result in less agression and distress in patients

Question 2

What happens in a prefrontal leucotomy?

Answer 2

Drilling a hole on each side of the skull and inserting an instrument that resembled an icepick to destroy the nerve fibers underneath and separate the frontal lobe from the rest of the brain

Question 3

In the 1940’s who developed the transorbital lobotomy and how many people in the United States had one?

Answer 3

• Walter Freeman

- 50,000 people in the US alone

Question 4

What happens in a transorbital lobotomy?

Answer 4

Inserting a sharp instrument into the brain through the eye socket. The prefrontal cortex is then damaged, this was thought to reduce aggressive behaviour

Question 5

What happens in a bilateral cingulotomy?

Answer 5

Surgeons burn away tissue by heating the tip of electrodes, or a non invasive tool known as a gamma knife to focus beams of radiation at the target. This interrupts circuits in the brain

Question 6

What happens in a capsulotomy?

Answer 6

Surgeons insert probes through the top of the skull into the capsule, a region of the brain near the hippocampus that is part of the circuit. They then heat the tips if the probes, burning away tiny portions of tissue.

Question 7

What are side effects of psychosurgery?

Answer 7

Unresponsiveness, decreased attention span and blunted or inappropriate emotions

Question 8

What is the fatality rate?

Answer 8

• 6%

- can also have sever side effects including brain seizures

Question 9

What did Kim et Al (2002) find out what side effects include?

Answer 9

Memory loss, seizures and changes to personality

Question 10

After Kim et al. (2002) investigated the long-term effects of various stereotactic psychosurgeries what did he find?

Answer 10

They are safe and effective for some mental disorders and illnesses. During follow-ups years after the surgery all patients showed significant decrease in their symptoms

Question 11

Why is it an issue to gain consent for psychosurgery (ethical issue)

Answer 11

-They may not be of sound mind
-They may only be agreeing because they feel this is the
only option
-They may not understand the implications due to their
mental state

Question 12

Aside from gaining consent, what is another ethical issue for psychosurgery?

Answer 12

The long term side effects and irreversible damage that is caused. Unlike drug therapy it is irreversible.