Surgery and anesthesia: healing the body but harming the brain?

Various sedation levels offer significant advantages in facilitating procedural interventions for patients undergoing medical or invasive surgical procedures. These levels span from anxiolysis to general anesthesia, providing a spectrum of sedative effects to cater to specific patient needs. Anxiolysis reduces anxiety and is achieved through minimal sedation, enabling patients to remain awake and responsive while feeling more at ease during the procedure. This level can benefit minor...

Anesthesia is a medical procedure that uses drugs for CNS suppression to enable painless surgeries and procedures. The selection of anesthetics is influenced by their pharmacokinetic properties, side effects, and patient characteristics. Various types of anesthesia include general, local, regional, spinal, and inhalational.
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...

Psychosurgery, the surgical alteration or permanent removal of brain tissue to alleviate severe psychological conditions, stands as one of the most radical and controversial treatments in the history of mental health care. Its development and application have evolved significantly, marked by dramatic shifts in scientific understanding and ethical perspectives.
Historical Development of Psychosurgery
In the 1930s, Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz introduced a surgical procedure designed...