What is psychosurgery ?
What is psychosurgery ?
Psychosurgery also referred to as functional neurosurgery is a field of surgery that is used to treat psychiatric disorders. Egas Moniz in 1936 introduced the concept of psychosurgery. Moniz used psychosurgery to "treat" a variety of psychiatric disorders especially schizophrenia and depression.
WHO defines psychosurgery as, “the selective surgical removal or destruction of nerve pathways for the purposes of influencing behavior.” It is a type of treatment aimed at altering the abnormal physiology of otherwise untreatable patients. Psychosurgery is based on the concept that if certain brain parts are responsible for symptoms, the symptoms can be eliminated by destroying the brain tissues connecting those brain parts.
Psychosurgery includes operations of the frontal lobes of the brain. The connections between the frontal lobes and the rest of the brain are severed with the help of psychosurgery to reduce the symptoms and sufferings of otherwise untreatable patients.
Today, psychosurgery is used only in those severe cases of disorders where behavioral and medical treatment has failed. For example disorders such as Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Major depressive disorder (MDD), Bipolar disorder (BP)Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), etc.
Step by step
Solved in 3 steps
