Prefrontal Lobotomy in Chronic Schizophrenia (Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital, 1944)

This film shows the improvement that can result from prefrontal lobotomy in chronic psychotics. Four patients are shown before and after the operation. Patients include one 25-year-old aggressive female, one 22-year-old aggressive male, one female who had been catatonic for five years, and one 26-year-old Ph.D. who has had catatonic lapses in the last three years. All patients appeared calmer and more sociable after surgery. Only the five-year catatonic female had to continue hospitalization after the lobotomy, although she had improved greatly. Filmed at the Bishop Clarkson Memorial Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska. Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: Learn more about the National Library of Medicine’s historical audiovisuals program at: #medicalhistory #lobotomy #psychotics