Doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists through the ages have innovated techniques intended to cure the mentally ill - but arguably, many of these pioneering treatments wouldn't look out of place in Guantanamo Bay. Don't believe me? Take a look at...
Pioneered in 1940 by William P. van Wagenen for the most extreme forms of epilepsy, a corpus callosotomy severs the corpus collosum, the bridge between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Surprisingly, you can still have it done!
So how does a corpus callosotomy work? By "splitting" the brain in this manner, the conflicting signals that trigger epileptic attacks can be reduced or even eliminated. However, the brain is now severely limited in how it shares information between the right and left hemispheres. In essence, there are now two brains sharing the same body.
Of course, there are consequences to having this procedure - the side effects range from a lack of coordination and stuttering to losing awareness of one side of the body. Sometimes surgeons will only partially sever the corpus callosum in an attempt to alleviate these side effects while still reducing the severity or frequency of epileptic episodes.
In some cases, the patient can develop "alien hand syndrome," where their hand seems to take on a mind of its own. This is thought to be a result of the link between the primary motor cortex (involved in movement) and the premotor cortex (involved in planning complicated movement) of the brain being severed by the surgery.
ECT is an evolution of an older technique called convulsion therapy. Ladislas Meduna was experimenting on schizophrenic and epileptic patients when he noticed that epileptic patients had an excess of glial cells in the brain, while schizophrenics showed a deficit. He theorized that by inducing epileptic fits, he could "grow" glial cells in schizophrenics and thus provide a cure. While he was very wrong, inducing epileptic fits using camphor did seem to help schizophrenic patients. The differences between each patient made it hard to administer an effective but safe dose. Ugo Cerletti came up with using electricity after witnessing pigs being stunned at an abattoir.
Electroconvulsive therapy is exactly what it sounds like. An electrical current is passed through the brain of the restrained patient to induce a short seizure. Side effects can include broken bones (due to the patient thrashing) and brief retrograde amnesia - which is quite handy, since being strapped down and electrocuted isn't something you'd want a memory of!
Ancient humans used hot springs and icy dips as restoratives, making this one of the oldest therapies known to humans - but asylums took things further. The "Bath of Surprise" was intended to shock patients out of their delirium. It was a simple contraption consisting of a platform above a tub filled with ice water - the patient would be led onto the platform and then dumped into the icy water without any warning.
Other variations on hydrotherapy include restraining the patient (perhaps victim may be more appropriate) in a bath of iced or hot (the temperature was chosen based on the illness the doctors were attempting to cure) water. Alternatively, a patient could be restrained in a cage and blasted with a high-pressure hose.
Being immersed in hot or cold water can actually have significant effects on the human body - hot temperatures can cause the blood vessels under our skin to dilate and lower our blood pressure. Conversely, cold water can constrict surface blood vessels and force blood to our core - this provides extra oxygen to our more essential organs, giving a feeling of invigoration.
Lobotomy was supposed to reduce the negative symptoms of mental illness (and it often did), but the side effects were so severe that it would be like claiming you've "fixed" a scratched window by hurling a brick through it. Patients were left confused, often lacking self-control or motivation. They often had to be "trained" in basic skills after the procedure, and very few could act independently in society.
Tens of thousands of people in the USA and UK were the victims of lobotomies. One particularly sad case is that of Rosemary Kennedy, lobotomized to avoid any potential scandal she could bring to her famous family - the procedure ravaged her personality and left her almost unable to walk or talk.
TrepanationFar back in the mists of time, a blow to the skull would have left you with a splitting headache that wouldn't go away. Fortunately, doctor Ugg is here to help with his trusty collection of knapped flint and a can-do attitude!
One of the earliest known examples of trepanation is a Neolithic burial site in France, containing a number of skulls with neat holes drilled into them. Curiously, most of the bones showed signs of regrowth at the edges - suggesting that not only did the individuals survive the procedure, they lived for at least a few years afterwards!
Early techniques seem to have involved scraping the exposed skull with a piece of flint, while a slightly later variant used intersecting cuts with a blade to remove a square of bone. Eventually, specific tools like a cylindrical saw emerged, acting a bit like a heavy-duty cookie-cutter. Though primitive physicians had no real idea what was actually happening in the brain, the procedure can relieve pressure in the skull and may help prevent injury from a bleed or swelling. Ironically, the advent of hospitals made trepanation vastly more dangerous - the infections rampant throughout these buildings meant that you had less than a 10% chance of surviving the procedure.
There's actually been a surge of people advocating self-trepanation, claiming pseudoscientific benefits like "enlightenment" or boosts in energy. There is no scientific evidence to support these claims - and if a random person on the internet advocating drilling a hole into your head with DIY tools seems like a health expert, you should seek professional help immediately!
- Corpus Callosotomy
- Electroconvulsive Therapy
- Hydrotherapy or the "Bath of Surprise"
- Lobotomy
- Trepanation
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| Few asylums inspired confidence... (robinsonk26) |
Corpus Callosotomy
Epileptic fits can be dangerous. Picture yourself as an individual with epilepsy who hasn't responded to any drug-based treatment. Then your doctor comes to you with this solution: "What we're going to do is cut your brain in half. That'll fix things."Pioneered in 1940 by William P. van Wagenen for the most extreme forms of epilepsy, a corpus callosotomy severs the corpus collosum, the bridge between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Surprisingly, you can still have it done!
So how does a corpus callosotomy work? By "splitting" the brain in this manner, the conflicting signals that trigger epileptic attacks can be reduced or even eliminated. However, the brain is now severely limited in how it shares information between the right and left hemispheres. In essence, there are now two brains sharing the same body.
Of course, there are consequences to having this procedure - the side effects range from a lack of coordination and stuttering to losing awareness of one side of the body. Sometimes surgeons will only partially sever the corpus callosum in an attempt to alleviate these side effects while still reducing the severity or frequency of epileptic episodes.
In some cases, the patient can develop "alien hand syndrome," where their hand seems to take on a mind of its own. This is thought to be a result of the link between the primary motor cortex (involved in movement) and the premotor cortex (involved in planning complicated movement) of the brain being severed by the surgery.
 |
| Electricity has uses in psychiatric medicine... (jplenio) |
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Imagine you find yourself strapped down, with electrodes placed on either side of your head, and a machine emitting an ominous whining. Then, things start to get a little fuzzy.ECT is an evolution of an older technique called convulsion therapy. Ladislas Meduna was experimenting on schizophrenic and epileptic patients when he noticed that epileptic patients had an excess of glial cells in the brain, while schizophrenics showed a deficit. He theorized that by inducing epileptic fits, he could "grow" glial cells in schizophrenics and thus provide a cure. While he was very wrong, inducing epileptic fits using camphor did seem to help schizophrenic patients. The differences between each patient made it hard to administer an effective but safe dose. Ugo Cerletti came up with using electricity after witnessing pigs being stunned at an abattoir.
Electroconvulsive therapy is exactly what it sounds like. An electrical current is passed through the brain of the restrained patient to induce a short seizure. Side effects can include broken bones (due to the patient thrashing) and brief retrograde amnesia - which is quite handy, since being strapped down and electrocuted isn't something you'd want a memory of!
This treatment can actually work as a therapy. It can help individuals with depression, mania and catatonia. In modern medicine, ECT is only used after other medical interventions have failed and requires the informed consent of the patient if possible.
Scientists are still not sure exactly why ECT helps, but one theory is that the after-effects of treatment aid natural sleep - and the improvements associated with treatment are simply the results of getting better rest!
Hydrotherapy or the "Bath of Surprise"Let's take a step back to Victorian times, where it's easy to find yourself in an asylum. The doctor tells you, "We can help - all you need to do is stand on this platform and have a peaceful view of the grounds." Then, the platform falls away.
Scientists are still not sure exactly why ECT helps, but one theory is that the after-effects of treatment aid natural sleep - and the improvements associated with treatment are simply the results of getting better rest!
 |
| Being dropped into an ice bath wouldn't really help most people, in my opinion... (tfrdic) |
Hydrotherapy or the "Bath of Surprise"Let's take a step back to Victorian times, where it's easy to find yourself in an asylum. The doctor tells you, "We can help - all you need to do is stand on this platform and have a peaceful view of the grounds." Then, the platform falls away.
Ancient humans used hot springs and icy dips as restoratives, making this one of the oldest therapies known to humans - but asylums took things further. The "Bath of Surprise" was intended to shock patients out of their delirium. It was a simple contraption consisting of a platform above a tub filled with ice water - the patient would be led onto the platform and then dumped into the icy water without any warning.
Other variations on hydrotherapy include restraining the patient (perhaps victim may be more appropriate) in a bath of iced or hot (the temperature was chosen based on the illness the doctors were attempting to cure) water. Alternatively, a patient could be restrained in a cage and blasted with a high-pressure hose.
Being immersed in hot or cold water can actually have significant effects on the human body - hot temperatures can cause the blood vessels under our skin to dilate and lower our blood pressure. Conversely, cold water can constrict surface blood vessels and force blood to our core - this provides extra oxygen to our more essential organs, giving a feeling of invigoration.
Lobotomy
You've got panic attacks, mood swings, and the occasional odd angry outburst. Then the doctor tells you, "This revolutionary procedure will remove those problems" - and in a way, he is right. After a lobotomy, you'll lack the mental capacity to be worried about much ever again.So how was a lobotomy carried out? One method used by Egas Moniz in 1935 involved drilling a hole into the skull of the patient and injecting ethanol to induce targeted brain damage, but later versions would use a tool to cut connective nerves between lobes.
Walter Jackson Freeman II would adopt a similar technique, but eventually switched "transorbital lobotomy" (sometimes "ice pick lobotomy.") This horrifying procedure involved inserting an ice pick (he commissioned a custom tool at a later date) under the eyelid and punching through the thin bone of the eye socket. He'd then move the tool around to sever connections in the brain, all without the benefit of seeing what he was doing. If that sounds reckless to you, you're probably right - some estimates claim that that out of the 3,500 or so lobotomies he was involved in, around 490 patients died as a result.
Lobotomy was supposed to reduce the negative symptoms of mental illness (and it often did), but the side effects were so severe that it would be like claiming you've "fixed" a scratched window by hurling a brick through it. Patients were left confused, often lacking self-control or motivation. They often had to be "trained" in basic skills after the procedure, and very few could act independently in society.
Tens of thousands of people in the USA and UK were the victims of lobotomies. One particularly sad case is that of Rosemary Kennedy, lobotomized to avoid any potential scandal she could bring to her famous family - the procedure ravaged her personality and left her almost unable to walk or talk.
 |
| Drilling holes in the skull seems disturbingly popular... (Pexels) |
TrepanationFar back in the mists of time, a blow to the skull would have left you with a splitting headache that wouldn't go away. Fortunately, doctor Ugg is here to help with his trusty collection of knapped flint and a can-do attitude!
One of the earliest known examples of trepanation is a Neolithic burial site in France, containing a number of skulls with neat holes drilled into them. Curiously, most of the bones showed signs of regrowth at the edges - suggesting that not only did the individuals survive the procedure, they lived for at least a few years afterwards!
Early techniques seem to have involved scraping the exposed skull with a piece of flint, while a slightly later variant used intersecting cuts with a blade to remove a square of bone. Eventually, specific tools like a cylindrical saw emerged, acting a bit like a heavy-duty cookie-cutter. Though primitive physicians had no real idea what was actually happening in the brain, the procedure can relieve pressure in the skull and may help prevent injury from a bleed or swelling. Ironically, the advent of hospitals made trepanation vastly more dangerous - the infections rampant throughout these buildings meant that you had less than a 10% chance of surviving the procedure.
There's actually been a surge of people advocating self-trepanation, claiming pseudoscientific benefits like "enlightenment" or boosts in energy. There is no scientific evidence to support these claims - and if a random person on the internet advocating drilling a hole into your head with DIY tools seems like a health expert, you should seek professional help immediately!
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