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Related Concept Videos

Psychosurgery01:30

Psychosurgery

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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...
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Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Author Spotlight: Automated Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease - Exploring the Possibilities and Challenges of Home Monitoring
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Why Deep Brain Stimulation for Obesity Is Ethically Impermissible.

Ian Stevens1,2, Kailyn Price3, Kayla R Mehl4

  • 1The Hastings Center.

AJOB Neuroscience
|March 7, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) for obesity lacks scientific and ethical grounding. This approach pathologizes fatness, continuing medicine's history of stigmatizing nonconformity.

Keywords:
Deep brain stimulationdiscriminationdiversityobesitypsychosurgery

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Medical Ethics
  • Sociology of Health

Background:

  • Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is increasingly explored for obesity treatment.
  • This trend lacks robust scientific justification and ethical scrutiny.
  • Current approaches are based on an "obese brain" model, framing fatness as a correctable neurological defect.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically analyze the scientific basis and ethical implications of DBS for obesity.
  • To situate DBS for obesity within the historical context of psychosurgery.
  • To challenge the "obese brain" model and its underlying assumptions.

Main Methods:

  • Historical analysis of psychosurgery.
  • Critique of the "obese brain" model.
  • Ethical evaluation of DBS interventions for obesity.

Main Results:

  • The "obese brain" model relies on stigmatizing, racialized assumptions about self-control and normalcy.
  • The scientific justification for DBS in obesity is scientifically weak and ethically problematic.
  • DBS for obesity is not a novel therapy but a continuation of pathologizing nonconformity.

Conclusions:

  • The ethical justification for DBS for obesity is unsustainable.
  • DBS for obesity reinforces harmful stereotypes and medicalizes social issues.
  • Alternative frameworks are needed that address the complexities of weight and health beyond a neurological deficit model.