psychosurgery en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree Ancient Greek ψῡχή (psūkhḗ) Ancient Greek ψῡχο- (psūkho-)der. English psycho- Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰes- Proto-Indo-European *-ōr Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰésōr Proto-Hellenic *kʰéhər Ancient Greek χείρ (kheír) Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *worǵós Proto-Hellenic *-worgós Ancient Greek -ουργός (-ourgós) Ancient Greek χειρουργός (kheirourgós) Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *-eyéti Proto-Indo-European *-esyéti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Ancient Greek -έω (-éō) Ancient Greek χειρουργέω (kheirourgéō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) Ancient Greek χειρουργίᾱ̆ (kheirourgíā̆)bor. Latin chīrūrgiader. Old French surgie Old French surgeriebor. Middle English surgerie English surgery English psychosurgery From psycho- + surgery.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) Surgery of the brain to treat or alleviate mental illness.
This was studied in humans where amygdalotomies were done not to control seizures but to control aggression. Such psychosurgery provoked fiery controversy in the 1970s. And I don't mean scientists not saying hello to each other at conferences. I mean a major public shit storm.
2017, Robert Sapolsky, chapter 2, in Behave, Penguin, →ISBN:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| psychosurgeries | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
psychosurgeon · psychosurgical