Lobotomy - New Depression Cure - NEXT on 60 minutes!

[lemurian]

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Originally Posted by MissMarley Honestly, some people never find their cocktail. There were different medications that made me hallucinate, pass out, etc- and that's just my body. Some people can never adjust to psychological medications. And if the surgery can be well researched and proven effective, why not?

How do you think they're going to go about "researching" the surgery? There is only one way, really... I am honestly shocked and somewhat concerned that anyone could be in favor of this. I believe that real mental illness exists, and that it is an inherent problem much like any other birth defect, but I think it is VERY rare, for example mental retardation or impairment as a result of physical trauma. I also believe that people who've been abused can be classified as mentally ill AND that they can benefit from psychiatric treatment (hypnosis, medication, etc.). But for those of us who are just depressed, suicidal, etc. I think we need to exhaust our studies of how environment affects our emotional and behavioral patterns before we allow doctors to tinker with our brains, which itself could result in REAL, irreversible mental illness.

 

[ilovexnerdsx]

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Originally Posted by lemurian How do you think they're going to go about "researching" the surgery?

there are TONS of ways of doing preliminary research. it's not like they just open your skull up and start digging around.

 

[lemurian]

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Originally Posted by ilovexnerdsx there are TONS of ways of doing preliminary research. it's not like they just open your skull up and start digging around.

No one can determine if the surgery will be effective without actually performing the surgery. The brain is just a wee bit more complex than you think

I want to add something because I don't want to appear totally insensitive, but there is TONS of evidence that phsyically manipulating the brain to treat depression or mania doesn't work and that it in fact causes more problems than it resolves. There are institutions and group homes across the country full of people who were productive citizens before receiving "treatment" in the form of a lobotomy. The very notion that you can change a person's personality or behavior by manipulating their brain is midevil. It may look promising on paper but historically HAS NOT WORKED. I don't know what makes some of you here defend it, I can only assume that you don't have family members who were victims of similar "treatment". I know what it is like to suffer with severe depression (I was diagnosed with it at age 9 for crying out loud), but I also know that there are other, harmless avenues of treatment that are seldomly explored

It makes me sad to think that people would subject themselves to the whims of "science"...

 

[lara]

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Originally Posted by lemurian No one can determine if the surgery will be effective without actually performing the surgery. The brain is just a wee bit more complex than you think

There's no need to be so condescending.

 

[Raerae]

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Originally Posted by lemurian I also know that there are other, harmless avenues of treatment that are seldomly explored It makes me sad to think that people would subject themselves to the whims of "science"...

I wonder how much of the more extreme ideas are motivated by doctors that want to get their names in books, rather than truly caring about their patients. And know that severly depressed patients may be more willing to consent, because they wil do anything to feel, "normal".

 

[Shimmer]

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Originally Posted by Raerae I wonder how much of the more extreme ideas are motivated by doctors that want to get their names in books, rather than truly caring about their patients. And know that severly depressed patients may be more willing to consent, because they wil do anything to feel, "normal".

Most who are that mentally ill, be it through depression or whatever, have a guardian assigned to make medical decisions for them. They generally, in that situation, can't consent without the guardian's agreement.

 

[MissMarley]

You know, my grandfather was blown off a boat in WWII. He was left with tremors due to neurological damage. In the late 90s, his surgeon opened his brain (while he was awake and fully aware) and poked around with electrodes till he found the damaged area that was causing the extreme tremors- so bad that my grandfather hadn't been able to open a bottle since the 1940s. They found it, implanted an electrode chip, wired it down to a point in his shoulder with a "button" that he could push- this would send an electrical impulse to his brain that stopped the tremors whenever they would start up again.

You know what? Maybe some of you would have said that they should never have tried to experiment with that surgery. It was weird- they videotaped it, it's strange to watch someone fishing around in your grandpa's head. But it gave him his quality of life back. He could pick up his great grand kids. He could open a Coke can. He didn't have to rely on my grandma to open boxes for him. He could get back involved in his beloved garden and orchard.

And I thank God that we have the science and doctors willing to explore new ways to treat all kinds of neurological problems and other problems stemming from the brain. Because it helped my grandpa, and maybe it could help someone else.

And you can argue about the ethics/consequences/whatever all you want. But it really comes down to the practicality of saving a life. Would my husband have okayed the surgery in hopes that maybe I'd get out of bed, start talking again? You fucking better believe he would.

 

[lemurian]

^^^ That's an awesome story! But I also think it illustrates the difference between neurology and psychology -- you cannot pinpoint in the brain where emotional or behavioral symptoms originate, but you can come close when it comes to *physical* symptoms. It is truly amazing to see people receiving surgery on their brain while totally conscious and confer with their surgeon about what his prodding is doing to their body, hehe! I'm happy for your grandpa

 

[Beauty Mark]

I'm not terribly familiar on the subject, but I imagine that scientists have some inkling about different parts of the brain and what part does what. I've seen scans of what a "normal" person's brain looks like vs. someone with a mental illness.

I think it's important to remember that most science at first is risky. Playing with the brain is dangerous, but so is doing things with the heart or any other vital organ. My only fear really is that people will try to use it as a cure-all without exhausting other options, like how some people get lipo instead of trying exercise and eat well.

 

[xbeatofangelx]

OOh.. I'm a little late on this thread, but I'd like to add my thoughts.

This procedure sounds very interesting and super helpful - a lot of people could benefit.

But I think it's important to remember that its tres difficult to pin depression on to ONE thing, to ONE part of your brain. Also, I believe that everything in our bodies is connected, dependent on each other. Changing one thing can affect our entire body - what if by removing this small piece, something unanticipated is affected, and now it's irreversible?

But if you're grasping at straws... It may be better to take a chance.