Reviewing the article titled A Brief History of the Lobotomy by Dr. C. George Boeree, gave much insight into the gruesome history of lobotomy. As many know, lobotomy is a neurosurgical procedure in which nerve pathways in a lobe or lobes of the brain are severed from other areas in order to terminate contact and improve ones mental health condition. This theory developed in 1890 when a German researcher, Friederich Golz, removed portions of his dogs’ temporal lobes and noticed a change in aggression. Noting this, Gottlieb Burkhardt, the head of a Swiss mental intuition proceeded to perform the surgery on six of his schizophrenic patients. Burkhardt killed two, however, confirmed the patients were indeed calmer. Later, in 1935, Carlyle Jacobsen
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However, despite these stereotypes, medical hypnosis can be considered an important technique of treating conditions including phobias and choric pain. William Ray, a Penn State psychology professor, has done a variety of EEG studies, and found evidence to suggest that hypnosis proceeds by removing the emotional experience of the “problem” while allowing the sensory system to remain. This is why the patient can notice the sense, but not “feel” it. Other studies that have used brain imaging techniques, have suggested the connections in the brain are altered during hypnosis, in particular those involved in decision making and environment monitoring. Therefore, under hypnosis an individual has the ability to focus on a task without questioning why they are doing it or being aware of environment changes. Ultimately, the hypnotized person is not sleeping or unconscious, but in a hyper-attentive and hyper-responsive mental state. This metal state can make an individual more open to suggestion, but the subject’s free will and moral judgment remain intact. Ray also acknowledges that some individuals are better hypnotized than others, but this is often linked to their level of engrossments towards activities, rather than their personality. According to the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales, which were developed in the late 1950’s as a “yardstick” for susceptibility at Stanford University, approximately 95 percent of individuals can be hypnotized to some extent. This societal “score” has remained stable over time, and an individuals “score” remains almost constant as well. By understanding how hypnosis affects the body and mind, psychologists such as Ray, are slowing demystifying the suspicious ways of mental persuasion, and gaining a deeper insight into the unconscious
However, despite these stereotypes, medical hypnosis can be considered an important technique of treating conditions including phobias and choric pain. William Ray, a Penn State psychology professor, has done a variety of EEG studies, and found evidence to suggest that hypnosis proceeds by removing the emotional experience of the “problem” while allowing the sensory system to remain. This is why the patient can notice the sense, but not “feel” it. Other studies that have used brain imaging techniques, have suggested the connections in the brain are altered during hypnosis, in particular those involved in decision making and environment monitoring. Therefore, under hypnosis an individual has the ability to focus on a task without questioning why they are doing it or being aware of environment changes. Ultimately, the hypnotized person is not sleeping or unconscious, but in a hyper-attentive and hyper-responsive mental state. This metal state can make an individual more open to suggestion, but the subject’s free will and moral judgment remain intact. Ray also acknowledges that some individuals are better hypnotized than others, but this is often linked to their level of engrossments towards activities, rather than their personality. According to the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales, which were developed in the late 1950’s as a “yardstick” for susceptibility at Stanford University, approximately 95 percent of individuals can be hypnotized to some extent. This societal “score” has remained stable over time, and an individuals “score” remains almost constant as well. By understanding how hypnosis affects the body and mind, psychologists such as Ray, are slowing demystifying the suspicious ways of mental persuasion, and gaining a deeper insight into the unconscious