What is a lobotomy like?!


Question: What is a lobotomy like?
Like after the fact. Can you think, can you make choices, do you have emotions, do you realize what is going on around you?

Answers:

A lobotomy, "consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain"
...and, "This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behaviors, personality expression, decision making and moderating correct social behavior. The basic activity of this brain region is considered to be orchestration of thoughts and actions in accordance with internal goals."

So I assume the individual just turns into a zombie. Cognition means, "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses." If one is unable to do this, then they are just wondering around not taking anything in at all, completely dead inside. Just an empty vessel with no emotion or personality. They will need to be cared for by someone for the rest of their life I assume.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobotomy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefrontal_…
New Oxford American Dictionary

Sorry about the wiki sources, they are just the simplest and easiest to find.



For a fascinating and distressing discussion of the topic, read Mad in Amercia, by Robert Whitaker.

People were often or usually completely incontinent after this procedure for months, so they would defecate on themselves. Some treatment. Their lives were utterly destroyed. Who cares, some say, because they were so ill anyway...well some may have gotten better, and I believe John F. Kennedy's aunt got a lobotomy for MIGRAINES and was basically a vegetable after that. I could have gotten the details of that wrong, but lobotomies were definitely used for migraines. they would even do it as a stunt in a living room, push the eye aside and use an ice pick to the brain. NO KIDDING.

Antipsychotics are the new (milder) lobotomy being heaped on people now - Nancy Adreasen just showed thru MRI's that these drugs can shrink brains up to 1% a year, confirming what was found in a monkey study. And now these drugs are being used for anxiety and to sleep better. Kinda like the lobotomies for migraines. .. google Andreasen antipsychotics for more on that topic. She is a mainstream psychiatrist researcher and she still thinks people should take their meds anyhow. outrageous.

PS most family members were dreadfully upset what happened to their loved ones - the whole thing was based on a lie. So think again before you get that gastric bypass surgery or knee replacement or get a heart stent put in or take a statin drug or a proton pump inhibitor like Nexium. . . these treatments are very overused and all have serious risks. Read "how to set the bullsh** filter when the bullsh** is thick." NOTHING has changed, there is just a lot of medical jargon thrown around nowadays. This is why all these medical studies turn out to be totally wrong 5 years later - the studies are done poorly.



Yes - people came through these things looking pretty normal. I imagine they had to stay in the asylum from then on though - they were pretty incompetent after that.

The only problem was that those with horrible OCD - and no drugs in those days - were just driven completely insane by their thoughts... so somebody came up with the idea of cutting into their brain in such a way that it destroyed lot of their emotions. And after that many of them were certainly more settled down and had less emotion.

They probably never had "normal" lives - but it probably relieved the ungodly pain of the OCD.



i dont think there will be any lobotomy patients here to answer your question ! lol !

you do realise they dont do them anymore?

It is a surgical procedure that destroys parts of the brain causing major personality changes. It was used 1930's, 40's by psychiatrists to treat various psychiatric illnesses.



You would still be able to think and do everything you once did, but you would be dulled down and never be the same person you once were.



Unfortunately, no one can remember!



eh dunno




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