Dr. Freeman believed that an overload
of emotions led to mental illness. He believed that cutting certain
nerves in the brain could eliminate much emotion. This, in turn,
would stabilize a personality. A lobotomy focused on the prefrontal
cortex. It would alter the physical state of the cortex, or even
sever nerve fibers. These nerve fibers that were cut were often the
two bundles that connected the prefrontal cortex to the thalamus. The
prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision-making, reasoning,
understanding, and personality expression. The thalamus is
responsible for relaying sensory information. Dr. Freeman believed
that by altering these portions of the brain, the personality of the
person could be changed or stabilized.
In many cases they were a “success”.
By success, I am referring to reports stating that the patient felt
less intense emotions, felt less anxious, and less paranoid. However,
there were many cases in which lobotomies were performed
unnecessarily. In addition, risks ran high with this procedure. A
famous incident of this surgery gone wrong is when Dr. Freeman
performed a lobotomy on President John F. Kennedy's sister, Rosemary.
The operation left her incapacitated at the age of 23. She lived the
remainder of her life in an institution. Other risks included
infection, bleeding, seizures, a child-like mentality, and even
death. These all contributed to the decline of the use of lobotomies.
As well as the introduction of anti-psychotic drugs to treat patients
with such disorders. These were often called “Chemical Lobotomies”.
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