Lobotomies were popular mainly from the mid-1930s through the early 1950s. The procedure gained traction after Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz introduced the prefrontal leucotomy in the 1930s and won a Nobel Prize in 1949. In the United States, it became widely adopted in the 1940s through the efforts of Dr. Walter Freeman, who simplified and promoted the surgery. Lobotomies reached their peak popularity in the late 1940s and early 1950s, with thousands performed annually during that period. However, by the mid-1950s, the procedure fell out of favor due to growing awareness of its dangers, severe side effects, and the development of safer psychiatric medications, such as antipsychotics like chlorpromazine. In summary:
- Initial work and introduction: 1930s
- Peak popularity and widespread use: 1940s to early 1950s
- Decline starting in the mid-1950s as alternative treatments emerged
This timeline reflects lobotomies as a mainstream psychiatric practice largely between the 1930s and 1950s before the procedure was largely abandoned or banned in many places.
