You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Eleven schizophrenic patients, six male and five female, all chronically ill with paranoid symptoms, were studied before and after a minimal lobotomy to determine the relation of energy discharge to psychic structure in schizophrenia. Psychological tests after operation indicated no organic brain defects, and one year postoperatively eight of the eleven patients were at home, some gainfully employed. Psychotherapy was given before and after operation. After operation aggressive discharge was less intense and better organized and the patients were less afraid of losing control of their impulses; useful aggressiveness became possible. Rigid superego was relaxed, leading to more energy discharge via laughter, joking, and instinctual gratification. Postoperatively males showed less guilt over incestuous desires and females had less homosexual anxiety and less disgust regarding sexual matters. Dreams became more effective discharges of excitation from the unconscious, and sleep was more easily achieved. Less concern over ego identity led to diminished anxiety over the wish for oral reunion with the mother, a problem which had produced tremendous defensive reactions preoperatively. The rejecting, prohibiting, introjective mother seen by the schizophrenic became less of a persecutor and allowed libidinal and aggressive gratifications. The ability to accept oral reunion with the mother seems to be a regression from a more differentiated superego to a simpler narcissistic ego ideal.
The schizophrenic psychotic apparatus is an energy system with limited capacities