... method that only needs a small opening to be made in the patients' skull, under a local aesthetic. A probe is placed into the brain using a system of geometric coordinates. It is put into the part of the brain that the neurosurgeon wants to remove. This method is used in surgeries that target specific parts of the brain, such as amygdalotomies and cingulotomies. In an amygdalotomy the amygdale, which is the part of the brain involved in anger, is destroyed by directing fine wire electrodes at it through a small hole drilled in the skull. Strong currents are then passed through the electrode, destroying the tissue around its tip. Cosgrove et al (1996) described their recent work using cingulotomies to relived emotional distress and reduce abnormal behaviour. They target the cingulated gyrus, which is a thin ribbon of grey matter believed to play a role in human emotional states. Amygdalotomies were ...

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