Lobotomy Schmotony

During Thanksgiving break, my sister studied hard for a test on Neuroscience.  Coincidentally, I quizzed her on some notes discussing the structure of the brain when she taught me about some of the scientific aspects of lobotomies.  I quickly forgot about what she told me, but researching mental health of the 50s and 60s and starting Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest sparked my memory of the peculiar treatment.  The frontal lobe of the brain controls an individual's personality.  The story of Phineas Gage depicts the significance of the frontal lobe.  Once an upstanding citizen, the rail road worker had a great personality.  However, a frightful accident at work lead to a large metal rod going through his forehead, straight through his frontal lobe.  Astonishingly, he survived, but forever lived a grouchy, lazy alcoholic.  Lobotomies strove to use medical equipment to mix up the frontal lobe of the brain in order to cure the mental instabilities of psychopathic patients.  However, lobotomies often led to drastic personality changes, such as rude, mean, and childlike actions from adults.  Bromden's seemingly childlike personality matches the common effect of lobotomies and I cannot help but wonder what other references to lobotomies I will read about in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.