Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 6, 1958, No. 3: Eugene B. Brody. 'Superego, Introjected Mother, and Energy Discharge in Schizophrenia: Contribution from the Study of Anterior Lobotomy.'

This paper presents a number of theoretical propositions about the interrelations of energy discharge

and psychic structure in schizophrenia. The investigation consisted of a study of eleven schizophrenic patients before and after leucotomy. The patients were seen daily for two to three months before the operation and similarly for one to two months after leucotomy. They were also seen three to six weeks at three and twelve months later.

The clinical data indicated that there was an increase in the frequency of aggressive discharge for the leucotomized patients compared with the intact schizophrenic. This suggests that aggression against objects becomes available as a means of adaptation to the environment. A reduced level of ego-defensive activity was reflected in the post-leucotomized patients in an increased freedom of action, diminished obsessive fears, and lessened sexual anxiety. The author suggests that this lessened need for ego defence is due to increasing quantities of neutralized aggressive energy becoming available for ego function. It is also likely that the disruption of the defensive structure by leucotomy allows of an increase in the speed as well as the quantity of energy discharge.

The mother was the focus of both aggressive and libidinal conflicts in the patients prior to leucotomy. As in the case of aggression it was possible to infer a reduction, after leucotomy, in anxiety and guilt concerning incest wishes and in the perception of the mother as engulfing and castrating. The sexual conflicts of the female patients were related rather to problems of maternal identification than to incestuous wishes for the father. In general there was a less inhibited phantasy life and a greater trend towards apparent sexual gratification after leucotomy. Beneficial changes in sleep rhythm were also noted after operation.

From a structural standpoint the introjected mother undergoes a drastic change after leucotomy. The diminution in power of this int