A lobotomy is a type of brain surgery that involves severing the connection between the frontal lobe and other parts of the brain. Lobotomies became popular in the 1930s as a treatment for certain ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...