Summary
Highlights
In the 1930s, the lobotomy was introduced to the United States as a new brain surgery for mentally ill patients. Hailed by the media as a 'miracle cure' and even receiving a Nobel Prize, the procedure involved severing parts of the brain. However, after more than 40,000 surgeries, the brutal truth emerged: many patients were left worse off.
In the early 20th century, options for mental illness were limited and often harsh, including hydrotherapy and insulin shock therapy. In 1936, Dr. Walter Freeman and Dr. James Watts began using lobotomy, claiming great success and earning significant media attention. Their work was seen as restoring lives to those suffering from mental illness.
Joseph P. Kennedy, influenced by media reports, sought lobotomy for his daughter Rosemary, who struggled with developmental and mental health issues. Despite warnings from other doctors, Rosemary underwent the procedure at age 23. The surgery went wrong, cutting too deeply and leaving her disabled. Her failed surgery, though hidden from the public, did not immediately deter the practice.
Following the unsuccessful surgery on Rosemary Kennedy, Dr. Freeman developed the transorbital lobotomy, performed by entering the brain through the eye socket with an icepick-like instrument. He claimed it could be done quickly by anyone and took the procedure on the road. The lobotomy was applied to a wide range of conditions, from hallucinations and depression to anxiety in returning soldiers and intractable pain.
Anna Ruth Channels, suffering from severe headaches, underwent a lobotomy suggested by Dr. Freeman. While her headaches disappeared, she lost basic life skills and personality, unable to care for her children. Despite her severe impairment, Freeman considered her outcome 'excellent,' highlighting the questionable ethics and evaluation standards of the time.
The mid-1950s saw a dramatic shift with the introduction of antipsychotic drugs, which, despite side effects, offered a less invasive alternative to lobotomy. Although some, like Freeman, continued lobotomizing patients, including children, he was eventually forced to stop in 1967 after a patient died during her third operation. Freeman performed over 3,500 surgeries. The negative cultural perception of lobotomy as 'evil doctors experimenting' is a simplification, as the procedure was initially embraced due to the desperate need for mental illness treatments and the promise of new technology.
Today, mental illness treatments have vastly expanded, from new medications to experimental therapies like LSD for PTSD. The BRAIN Initiative, a $100 million project, aims to map the brain in unprecedented detail to understand its complexity. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a largely reversible surgical technique, is now used for untreatable psychiatric disorders like severe OCD and depression. It involves implanting a pacemaker-like device that sends electrical pulses to targeted brain areas.
Liss Murphy, who suffered from debilitating anxiety and depression, was among the first patients to receive DBS for depression in 2006. After an 8-hour surgery and activation of the electrode, she felt a remarkable change. Within months, she was able to resume daily activities like walking her dog and getting out of bed, regaining her life. Despite some mixed results for depression, doctors are cautiously optimistic about advanced DBS devices that respond to individual moods, emphasizing the careful approach taken due to the dark history of psychiatric neurosurgery.