• Question: Have you ever done a 'lobotormy' in your lab before?

    Asked by to Charli on 16 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Charlotte Flavell

      Charlotte Flavell answered on 16 Jun 2014:

      A lobotomy, also known as a “frontal lobotomy”, involves surgery to remove the front part of a person’s brain. This was thought to be a good way to cure all sorts of brain problems in the 1930’s and 40’s. Unfortunately, it was very dangerous and left a lot of people very disabled.

      We now know that this part of the brain, known as the prefrontal cortex, is very important for complex thought and decision making and removing it is probably not a good idea. We have a much better understanding of mental health problems now and have developed a lot of new drugs since then that are able to treat them well, so lobotomies are a thing of the past.

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