Evening star., 1937-06-07
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
Stan Correspondent OF The Star.


ATLANTIC CITY, June Tn
tractable wild animals tanned perma-
nently in "a hours by psychic sur
gerry were exhibited at the annual
meeting Of the American Medical
Association which opened here today
by Drs. Walter Freeman, James A.
Watts and r. w. Barris Of the faculty
OF George Washington University.
The operation is prefrontal lobot-
omv. first introduced into the United
States last Fall by Drs. Freeman and
Watts and which has been attended
with remarkable success in various
types OF mental disorder Two holes
are bored through the skull. Through
these holes hollow needle contain
ing a sharp wire loop is inserted and
six harble-sized bits OF white sub
stance are cut loose from the pre-
frontal lobe from the back Of the cere-
bral cortex.
The remarkable results Of the op-
erations were attributed by some
neurologists to psychic shock" 1t
had been noted in the past that any
severe jolt to the nervous system was
likely to be OF temporary benefit to
persons suffering from mental dis
orders. Hence. the criticism was
raised that chopping of \ finger
might be as successful as boring a
hole in the brain.
The Washington neurologists be-
lieved that the results were much too
specific for such an explanation and
the experiments on wild animals were
carried out to prove the point. They
used macaque monkeys. These animals
never actually become tame in cap
tivity. They always snar. and snap
at the hand that feeds them. They
are never handled without thick
leather gloves
With maCques "wildness" is nat
ural attribute. not the result of
disordered minds. Because OF their
hardness in captivity. they are COM
monty used in physiological expert
ments and hundreds OF radical oper-
ations have been carried out on their
brains without in the least altering
their natural jungle temperaments.
This throws out the argument that
they are subject to change by psychic
shock
Accidental Observation.
The lobotomy operations resulted
from an accidental observation by Dr.
Barris. He had removed one side Of
the prefrontal lobe of a macque with
another purpose in view After the
animal had recovered from this oper-
alton, he extirpated the other side.
After the first operation, the creature
had remained as wild as ever. But
as soon as it came out of the
anesthetic given it for the second
lobe removal, Dr. Barris noted an al
most unbelievable change in its be-
havior.
Instead of mapping viciously at his
fingers 1t cuddled against his arm.
1t loved to be stroked and petted. 1t
had completely lost its fear Of man.
1t was happy and playful. 1t was even
tanner than the ordinary Capuchin
monkey used by organ grinders. As
1t recovered from the operation 1t be-
came rs lively as ever, but apparently
4 little more restless. It would spend
hours walking in q circle, always to
the left because, Dr. Barris believes,
the left lobe was extripated first.
This led to the test of prefrontal
lobotomy. Instead Of removing the
frontal lobes they were blocked
of by serving the six marble-sized
cores of white matter. The results
on behavior were precisely the same
as complete removal OF the lobes. The
theory is that something in the nature
Of road barriers is thrown up across
the pathways Of impulses from the
pre-frontal region to the brain. The
normal activity Of the higher brain
centers located just back of the
forehead goes on AS before. but at a
slower pace. Theoretically, it was
explained, the same results might be
expected with any Of the higher wild
animals-such as lions or tigers.
Nothing has heen attempted in this
line.
Declared DRIVERS q Brain"
When the operation was first per-
formed at George Washington Uni
versity Hospital last Fall the results
were explained on the theory that
the pre-frontal lobes-formerly con-
sidered at the locations Of human in
telligence-actually acted as drivers
Of the brain" In them the center
Of speech is located and they are the
latest acquisitions in animal evolu-
ton. When they became too active,
1t was reasoned. they flashed" the
older parts Of the brain to unendur.
able activity, with mental break
downs as the result. From this