lobotomy

noun

lo·​bot·​o·​my lō-ˈbä-tə-mē 

plural lobotomies

: surgical severance of nerve fibers connecting the frontal lobes to the thalamus that has been performed especially formerly chiefly to treat mental illness

Examples of lobotomy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Turns out that the skull is a medical training device for spine and neurosurgeons, and can be used to instruct them on how to conduct a lobotomy. —CBS News, 30 Sep. 2023

California Patt Morrison: ‘Paradise with a lobotomy’ or ‘just a big parking lot’? —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2023

Morrison: ‘Paradise with a lobotomy’ or ‘just a big parking lot’? —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2023

Neuroscientists like Walter Freeman, the biggest evangelist for the lobotomy in the United States, believed that psychosis was caused by endlessly circling thoughts and that cutting off the prefrontal cortex would break the circuit. —Kristen Martin, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2023

As recently as the mid-20th century, doctors performed lobotomies on people deemed mentally ill, severing the connection between the thalamus and the frontal lobe. —Kristen Martin, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2023

Arthur Sackler, this psychiatrist from New York who specialized in lobotomies, started to realize that the future was in pills — specifically in advertising pills. —Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 July 2023

See more On April 28, scientists actually discovered the world’s first ever non-invasive lobotomy. —Kate Lindsay, Vulture, 1 July 2023

After undergoing a disastrous lobotomy in 1941, the once vivacious beauty was unable to form a complete sentence. —Liz McNeil, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2023

See More

Word History

Etymology

lobe + -o- + -tomy

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

lobotomy

noun

lo·​bot·​o·​my lō-ˈbät-ə-mē 

plural lobotomies

: surgical severance of nerve fibers connecting the frontal lobes to the thalamus that has been performed especially formerly chiefly to treat mental illness

called also leukotomy

compare lobectomy