Dr. Gottlieb Burckhardt the Pioneer of Psychosurgery

@article{Stone2001DrGB,
  title={Dr. Gottlieb Burckhardt the Pioneer of Psychosurgery},
  author={James L. Stone},
  journal={Journal of the History of the Neurosciences},
  year={2001},
  volume={10},
  pages={79 - 92}
}
  • J. Stone
  • Published 1 March 2001
  • Medicine, Psychology
  • Journal of the History of the Neurosciences
The first attempt at psychosurgeryintentional damage to the intact brain for the relief of mental illness–was undertaken in 1888 by the Swiss psychiatrist Gottlieb Burckhardt. Six chronic schizophrenic patients underwent localized cerebral cortical excisions. Most patients showed improvement and became easier to manage, although one died from the procedure and several had aphasia or seizures. Burckhardt, a learned neuropsychiatrist, presented his results in 1890 and in 1891 published his… 
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Highly Influential Citations
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Background Citations
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Methods Citations
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33 Citations

Gottlieb Burckhardt (1836-1907): 19th-Century Pioneer of Psychosurgery

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Although Burckhardt discontinued the project after publication of his surgical results in 1891, neurosurgeons around the world continued to investigate psychosurgery and revitalized his ideas in 1910; psychosURgery subsequently developed into a full-fledged neurosurgical specialty.

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A Controversial Past

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Topectomy versus leukotomy: J. Lawrence Pool's contribution to psychosurgery.

It is imperative for the neurosurgery community to remember the history of psychosurgery to provide the best possible current treatment and to search for better future treatments for a particularly vulnerable patient population.

Evolution in the Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: From Psychosurgery to Psychopharmacology to Neuromodulation

There has been a recent resurgence of interest for non-ablative therapies, due in part to modern advances in functional and structural neuroimaging and neuromodulation technology, and deep brain stimulation is a promising treatment paradigm with the potential to modulate abnormal pathways and networks implicated in psychiatric disease states.

Psychosurgery: History of the Neurosurgical Management of Psychiatric Disorders

Psychosurgery for schizophrenia: history and perspectives

It is shown that there are still many patients with schizophrenia who have serious deficits even after being treated with current noninvasive therapies, and there are no data available to support the use of stereotactic procedures for schizophrenia.

History and prospects of psychosurgical interventions in the treatment of mental disorders. The arguments «pro et contra»

The main stages in the development of psychosurgery, the main surgical methods used to treat mental disorders, and the future probable directions of neurosurgical treatment in a psychiatric clinic are described.

Neurostimulatory and ablative treatment options in major depressive disorder: a systematic review

Electroconvulsive therapy, vagus nerve stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, lesion surgery, and deep brain stimulation are reviewed and the early clinical effects and main reported complications of these methods are described.

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