psychosurgery

/sˈaɪkoʊsˌɜdʒɚɹi/ noun

**Psychosurgery** is a surgical procedure that alters brain tissue in order to relieve severe psychiatric disorders. It usually involves cutting, destroying, or stimulating specific neural circuits, and it has been used when medication and therapy have failed. The term conjures images of mid‑20th‑century lobotomies, but modern psychosurgery is far more precise, employing tiny electrodes or focused radiation to target regions linked to obsessive‑compulsive disorder, depression, or Tourette’s. Because it tamps with the organ that makes us who we are, the practice is tightly regulated, reserved for the most intractable cases, and always weighed against ethical concerns.

【核心含义】指通过外科手术改变脑组织,以治疗严重精神疾病的方法。

常与“脑部手术”“精神疾病治疗”搭配;注意区别于药物治疗或心理疗法,特指侵入性的外科干预手段。

【Significado central】Procedimiento quirúrgico que modifica el tejido cerebral para aliviar trastornos psiquiátricos graves.

(formal) El término suele evocar las lobotomías de mediados del siglo XX, pero la psicocirugía actual es mucho más precisa: emplea electrodos diminutos o radiación focalizada para intervenir circuitos neuronales específicos. Se utiliza principalmente en casos de trastorno obsesivo-compulsivo (TOC), depresión o síndrome de Tourette resistentes a medicamentos y psicoterapia. Por involucrar al órgano que define nuestra identidad y personalidad, es una práctica muy regulada, considerada un último recurso y rodeada de fuertes debates éticos.

Word Origin A compound of Greek psykhē 'mind' and surgery, which itself comes from kheir 'hand' and ergon 'work' — so psychosurgery is literally 'mind hand-work,' surgery on the brain to treat mental illness. The psych- part is in psychology and psychiatry; surgery is in surgeon and surgical; and the roots kheir and ergon also give us chiropractor (hand-worker) and energy (in-work). The breakdown psychosurgery is a mouthful of Greek.

noun Surgery of the brain to treat or alleviate mental illness. countable

Psychosurgery was once a controversial treatment for severe mental disorders.

(名词) 精神外科手术

精神外科手术曾是治疗严重精神疾病的一种有争议的方法。

(sustantivo) psicocirugía [Cirugía del cerebro para tratar o aliviar enfermedades mentales.]

La psicoquirúrgica fue en su momento un tratamiento controversial para trastornos mentales severos.

(nom) psychochirurgie; chirurgie du cerveau; neurochirurgie fonctionnelle [Chirurgie pratiquée sur le cerveau dans le but de traiter ou d'atténuer une maladie mentale.]

La **psychosurgery** fut autrefois un traitement controversé pour les troubles mentaux sévères.

(Substantiv) Psychochirurgie [**Psychosurgery** *f* (Medizin) chirurgischer Eingriff am Gehirn zur Behandlung oder Linderung psychischer Erkrankungen.]

**Psychosurgery** war einst eine umstrittene Behandlungsmethode für schwere psychische Störungen.

(名詞) 精神疾患を治療または緩和するために行われる脳の手術。

精神外科手術はかつて、重度の精神障害に対する物議を醸す治療法だった。

(substantivo) psicocirurgia [Cirurgia do cérebro para tratar ou aliviar doenças mentais.]

A psicocirurgia já foi um tratamento controverso para transtornos mentais graves.

Word parts: psycho + surgery

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