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Modern neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders.
1Department of Neurosurgery, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
Neurosurgery
|August 5, 2000
Summary
Modern functional neurosurgery offers a safe and effective treatment option for severe psychiatric disorders. Selected patients refractory to other treatments show significant improvement with minimal long-term side effects.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Psychiatry
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Functional neurosurgery has a history of treating psychiatric disorders.
- Recent advances have led to a resurgence of interest in these procedures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To document the evolution, rationale, and results of modern functional neurosurgery for psychiatric disorders.
- To consider the benefits for critically ill, selected psychiatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Review of historical and contemporary functional neurosurgical procedures (cingulotomy, subcaudate tractotomy, limbic leukotomy, capsulotomy).
- Presentation of outcome data, neuropsychological assessments, and functional imaging.
Main Results:
- Modern procedures are safe with low mortality and transient morbidity.
- Selected refractory patients demonstrated significant improvement without long-term adverse neuropsychological effects.
Conclusions:
- Advances in neurobiology, psychiatry, imaging, and stereotaxy support further investigation.
- Functional neurosurgery is a viable option for a subset of treatment-refractory psychiatric patients.