Opening Skinner's Box by Lauren Slater
Chapter 9
Psychologists began to remove pieces of the brain to try and "cure" mentally ill patients. It was soon discovered that if the hippocampus was removed, the patient could no longer formulate new memories. They had effectively removed the part of the brain that created memories. This was a massive leap forward because the theory before was that memories are formed scattered all over the brain. This was an unexpected outcome from an experiment to cure a man suffering from chronic seizures. The author refers to him as Mr. M. After the operation, he did not seize nearly as much, but he had no short term memory whatsoever. Even into his old age he would weep when someone reminded him his mother died many years ago as if he had just found out for the first time. I feel very sorry for him and all of the mentally ill patients that were put under the knife for an experiment.
Chapter 10
Psychosurgery was first done by Antonio Moniz. He also is the one that created its negative image in societies eyes. He operated on patients that were available with little disregard for them. He did not even clean his surgical tools between operations. They were treated horribly because of their mental illnesses. His work was not well documented, but the results that he did publish were astounding. He reported that he was successfully curing patients with mental illnesses. Many went on to live normal lives in society. There was a sense that they were not completely the same person after the operation. The author mentions that they were missing a certain spark or humanity. They simply seemed odd. Nonetheless, many thousands of operations were undergone by other psychologists because of Dr. Moniz's work.
The pharmacological industry today is seen as a more humane way to cure mental illnesses. Whether or not it is any better is up to debate. The author explains some statistics that show very few patients actually see significant improvements from pharmacological drugs. The companies backing the industry would like everyone to think otherwise.
Chapter 10
Psychosurgery was first done by Antonio Moniz. He also is the one that created its negative image in societies eyes. He operated on patients that were available with little disregard for them. He did not even clean his surgical tools between operations. They were treated horribly because of their mental illnesses. His work was not well documented, but the results that he did publish were astounding. He reported that he was successfully curing patients with mental illnesses. Many went on to live normal lives in society. There was a sense that they were not completely the same person after the operation. The author mentions that they were missing a certain spark or humanity. They simply seemed odd. Nonetheless, many thousands of operations were undergone by other psychologists because of Dr. Moniz's work.
The pharmacological industry today is seen as a more humane way to cure mental illnesses. Whether or not it is any better is up to debate. The author explains some statistics that show very few patients actually see significant improvements from pharmacological drugs. The companies backing the industry would like everyone to think otherwise.
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