History and Context of Psychosurgery

Psychosurgery is believed to have originated with the observation by early
medical practitioners that severe head injuries could produce extreme
changes in behavior patterns. In addition, physicians of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries reported that sword and knife wounds that penetrated the
skull could change normal behavior patterns. From the mid-1930’s to the
mid-1960’s, reputable physicians performed psychosurgery on both indigent
patients in public institutions and on the wealthy at expensive private
hospitals and universities.
Psychosurgery was imperfect and could cause adverse reactions, but it
was performed because of the arguments advanced by powerful physician
proponents of the method; the imperfect state of knowledge of the brain at
the time; the enthusiasm of the popular press, which lauded the method;
and many problems at overcrowded mental hospitals. The last reason is
thought to have been the most compelling, as asylums for the incurably
mentally ill were hellish places. Patients were beaten and choked by attendants,
incarcerated in dark, dank, padded cells, and subjected to many
other indignities. At the same time, little could be done to cure them. 692