1944 a rather dissatisfied patient called his name in the street and shot him in the spine, paralysing him for life! As a consolation he received the Nobel prize for his contribution to science in 1949. Surgery is used only as a last resort, where the patient has failed to respond to other forms of treatment and their disorder is very severe. This is because all surgery is risky and the effects of neurosurgery can be unpredictable. Also, there may be no benefit to the patient and the effects are irreversible. There are four major types of lobotomy : BBC Radio 4: The Lobotomists . This programme tells the story of three key figures in the strange history of lobotomy - and for the first time explores the popularity of lobotomy in the UK in detail. ECT Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) began in the 1930's after it was noticed that when cows are executed by electric shocks they appear to convulse as if they are having an epileptic shock. The idea was extrapolated to humans as a treatment for schizophrenia on the theoretical basis that nobody can have schizophrenia and epilepsy together, so if epilepsy is induced by electric shock the schizophrenic symptoms will be forced into submission! Bizzare train of thought, but it did seem to work to a certain extent on some patients and to this day is used as a last resort for treating severe depression. There are many critics of this extreme form of treatment, especially