A (prefrontal) lobotomy which damages the anterior portion of the frontal lobe was a common surgical procedure that was performed for psychiatric conditions during the 1940s and 1950s. A lobotomy did not result in death but did change the activities of mental patients.
What functions are disrupted by a prefrontal lobotomy?
What type of changes would you expect to result from such a procedure?
Related topics that you might be interested in researching are; Phineas Gage, Rosemary Kennedy, Antonio Moniz (Nobel Prize Winner) and Dr. James Watt