#lobotomy – @scriptshrink on Tumblr

Anonymous asked:

Are there any existing cases where a person changes in behavior drastically after receiving a head injury? Like as big as a violent person becoming peaceful or as small as eating only when around people.

scriptmedic answered:

Typically head injuries make people more violent/agitated, not less. But yes, personality changes are a very common effect of a head injury.

The frontal lobe of the brain is the place that controls behavior, social concepts, etc. When that gets damaged, people tend to have less patience, and may not comprehend social rules or roles as well. They can get frustrated very easily, which can lead to lashing out. The injury doesn’t even have to be directly to the front of the head; if there’s bleeding inside the skull, it can put pressure on the frontal lobe and cause the changes.

There’s a pretty good overview from brainline.org, from caregiver.org, and Psychology Today (note: I have no idea if this last one is a valid source).

I will say this…. docile or calmer behavior is almost never seen as a “bad thing,” so there’s definitely not as much written about how to “cope” with someone being calm.

I hope these references are helpful and help you make good stories!

xoxo, Aunt Scripty

disclaimer

Becoming a Patron lets you see the freaking future. Have youconsidered becoming a clairvoyant?

FreeeBook: 10 BS “Medical” Tropes that Need to Die TODAY!

scriptshrink

CW: eye injury, body horror, surgery, needles (kinda). A simple medical illustration is linked.

It depends on how localized the head injury. If you count something like an icepick lobotomy, that would definitely make someone more docile.

Some more info after the jump.

#reblog #head injury #personality changes #Anonymous #scriptmedic #eye injury #eye injury tw #lobotomy #historical psychology #history #icepick #needles #body horror #surgery #brain injury #brain trauma #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice

scriptshrink

DARPA’s Brain Chip Implants Could Be the Next Big Mental Health Breakthrough—Or a Total Disaster

How did a Massachusetts woman end up with two electrodes implanted into her brain? Why is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency developing a controversial, cutting-edge brain chip technology that could one day treat everything from major depressive disorder to hand cramps? How did we get to deep brain stimulation and where do we go from here?

gizmodo.com|Kristen V. Brown

Deep Brain Stimulation is a controversial treatment in real life, but my goodness it can inspire some sci-fi plot bunnies!

Content warnings for the article after the jump.

scriptshrink

captain-acab asked:

Hi! Let's say I have a villain who wants to create a group of mindlessly obedient slaves to run his ship. I hope this isn't too neurological, but is there a surgery or drug that would accomplish this? (I was thinking maybe lobotomies?) Thanks you!

Yep, a lobotomy would do a great job of making them mindless.

Unfortunately, it would also take away their ability to perform complex tasks, or even their capacity to understand and follow orders. It’s not going to work the way you want it to. I’m pretty sure that any surgery like that is going to have the same results.

I’m not the one to ask about drugs (go ask @scriptpharmacist!).

HOWEVER - what if your villain used the threat of lobotomy to keep the slaves in line? And once a slave’s been lobotomized, he forces the relatives/friends of the slaves to take care of them, and force them to realize what a horrendous, awful thing they face if they rebel?

See, there are a lot of ways to psychologically break someone, but if you focus just on the physical aspects of it, you can only get so far.

Don’t actually do this IRL, people.

#wakeupontheprongssideofthebed #asks #torture #brainwashing #psychological torture #lobotomy #body horror #villain #character critique #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice #don't do this irl #seriously #slavery #scriptpharmacist #referral to scriptpharmacist

scriptshrink reblogged

Anonymous asked:

Do you think it be possible for future scientists or doctors to influence emotional states (for better or for worse) without ingesting medicine? Like using sound waves or surgeries or the like?

flukedoesecology answered:

Hmm, I feel like this is more of a question for @scriptmedic and @scriptshrink since it’s about doctors and surgeons and mental states, but I don’t see why this couldn’t happen in the future! What do you guys think about it?

scriptshrink

Why yes, believe it or not, there is already a magical method of influencing emotional states without ingesting medicine!

It’s called therapy. :P

On a more serious note, there are at least three medical /surgical treatments that have been proven to affect people’s emotional states.

ECT

First up is ECT, or electroconvulsive therapy. It’s a procedure where doctors strap you down, sedate you, shock your brain with electricity, and give you a brief seizure. The electrical current stimulates neurons and causes your very brain chemistry to change, and can actually reverse symptoms, or even cause a full remission of, certain mental illnesses.

For a lot of people, it’s fucking magic. It’s a magic bullet that works when every other thing they’ve tried doesn’t.

For a lot of other people, it’s torture. ECT can come with a lot of nasty side effects, especially memory loss and confusion.

ECT is never used as a front-line treatment. It’s only considered when you’ve got severe, treatment-resistant mental illness. It’s a bit of a last resort - people don’t want to risk you having a bad time with ECT if there are other options.

Lobotomy

This is one of the things about the history of psychology that we are fucking ashamed of. And we should be.

People acting out and being violent? Are they being too much of a hassle for the staff to deal with? Let’s scrape out some of their fucking brains.

It definitely changed the victim’s emotional state. They stopped behaving aggressively! No more fighting!

Unfortunately, it had the small side effect of destroying their personality and removing their ability to function independently.

Psychology is no longer like this. Lobotomies have gone the way of the dodo. Thank fucking god.

TMS

There’s also something called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Basically, it’s magnets. Yup, just a really strong magnet (the same strength as an MRI, but much, much smaller). They put it by your head.

This somehow makes you feel better.

I don’t know much about TMS, and it’s really new. It hasn’t been tested much, so I don’t know how effective it is.

#body horror #lobotomy #ect #masterpost #tms #this is not psychological or medical advice #this is writing advice