Medicine: Pavlov Rides Again

At a mental-health congress in Vienna last week, before psychiatrists from 41 nations, Professor Nikolai Oserezski laid down the Soviet line: the brain operation known as lobotomy "is an anti-physiological method that violates the principles of humanity."

Russian psychiatrists have long frowned on lobotomy, a drastic operation developed in Portugal and the U.S. but by no means approved by all Western specialists (TIME, June 22). For a generation, Russia's doctors have been conditioned to follow, sheeplike, the late Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, of conditioned-reflex fame. Following his patterns, they believe that if any part of the physical brain is damaged or destroyed, the...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!