A New Form of Psychiatry

A new cure for obsessive compulsive disorder, depression, Tourette’s syndrome, and maybe even obesity may have been found, but not in the form of any drug. Instead, patients with severe cases of obsessive compulsive disorder have turned to brain surgery. A new technique of psychosurgery, called cingulotomy, surgeons can thread wires into a circuit connecting the regions of the brain processing emotions to the frontal cortex. This circuit appears to be overactive in patients with OCD, and the surgery can help relax the patients. Other surgeries can stimulate the brain by providing more or less electric current to certain areas of the brain, while others burn out sections of certain brain circuits associated with a particular disease.
So far, only patients who meet strict criteria have been permitted to undergo this surgery (such as a boy who spent seven hours a day in the shower or a man who refused to wash himself). In some cases it has been successful while some surgeries have not created much of a change. Patients have to undergo strict screening and many are turned down if their symptoms are not disabling enough. Now the surgery is used as a last resort for patients who have tried everything else, with the understanding that it may or may not be successful.
This surgery can provide relief to severely affected people, but we still do not know enough about the brain to promise a positive outcome. We are essentially tampering with these patients’ brains and rewiring parts of their minds. At the moment it is in its experimental stages, but once scientists have learned enough to promise success, how will we determine who is disabled enough to undergo treatment? So far, obsessive compulsive disorder has been the most common cause of surgery, but anxiety, depression, and obesity have also been mentioned as “diseases” that may be cured. However, there is no marker that specifically defines someone as anxious. Eventually, will healthy people look to have their brains stimulated to help them relax more, concentrate better, or otherwise enhance their minds? It makes sense to help people whose day-to-day lives are severely affected by their mental disorders, but we need to make sure that these surgeries to do not cross over the line separating treatment and enhancement, no matter how tempting may be.

Article Relevant to my Post:
"Brain Power--New Techniques in Brain Surgery Mix Hope with Risk" by Benedict Carey
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/health/research/27brain.html?_r=1&ref=health&pagewanted=all