I was reading a fascinating book where it said that people once thought in the 1950s it was fashionable to go and get themselves lobotomised. it gives me the creeps.
thankfully, they are no longer performed. (as far as I am aware.)
2006-11-27 03:05:38 · 7 answers · asked by Balaboo 5 in Social Science ➔ Psychology
It worked wonders for me!
Actually, lobotomies really were popular for mental patients for a while. They would destroy most of the prefrontal cortex, which is the seat of higher reasoning and most of what Christians call the soul. The idea was that lobotomies would turn violent and disruptive mental patients into drooling idiots, who would be very east to take care of. It was used for many disorders, including seizures, schizophrenia and even what sounds like descriptions of extreme ADHD before they knew what it was or invented Ritalin. And it really did effectively calm down everyone who had one. Permanently.
No one ever really wanted an icepick shoved past their eyeballs, but it really was a fashionable to lobotomize any member of the family with mental issues so they could be cared for at home without trouble. I think the book you found was exaggerating a little, but you may find this interesting:
http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n02/historia/lobotomy.htm
I also recommend "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Session 9", both of which are fictional but get the details right.
2006-11-27 03:27:22 · answer #1 · answered by thebraindamaged1 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It wasn't only thought of as fashionable but was a means of controlling those individuals who did not "blend" in with society. If someone was thought of as being a Capitalist or Communist, was homosexual, or just plain what they would considered a bad seed, those individuals would then be institutionalized and given lobotomies. The first lobotomies was performed by a mine accident. There was an explosion in one of the mines and a miner received a pick ax to his head. Miraculously he survived but his persona had changed. He went from a pleasant, considerate individual to a short tempered, irrational one. Further research into the matter showed that his grey matter had been affected, thus changing his personality.
2006-11-27 11:21:46 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because they worked? There is an old joke " I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy" In the past it was used to change alcoholics,and other mentally ill patients into calm, happy, peaceful people...Problem was that many couldn't function fully after having the "frontal lobe" of the brain removed...
2006-11-27 11:13:11 · answer #3 · answered by Michael S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all, they do work. Just depends on what you mean by "work."
Second, if it said that it was ever "fashionable" to get lobotomized, it had to be fictional. Lobotomies were done on a VERY limited basis and by force (e.g.- killers, psychopaths, etc).
Lobotomies make you a vegetable, that was never a fashionable thing to be!!
2006-11-27 11:15:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It was performed to sever nerve endings in the frontal lobe which is responsible for behavior and anxieties thought to be effective in calming an individual.
2006-11-27 11:20:26 · answer #5 · answered by ratdog 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The same reason they thought epileptics were possessed by the devil. There was very little known about the human brain, and they thought this sort of drastic measure was necessary.
2006-11-27 11:15:02 · answer #6 · answered by bon b 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
who knows - but at least they figured out they don't work!
2006-11-27 11:09:07 · answer #7 · answered by jessica 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋