Editing Bilateral cingulotomy (section)

== Procedure ==
A book published in 1992 described how the operation was carried out at that time. In most cases the procedure started with the medical team taking a number of [[X-ray computed tomography|CT]] scan [[X-ray]] images of the brain of the patient. This step ensured that the exact target, the [[cingulate cortex]], was mapped out, so that the surgeon could identify it. Burr holes were then created in the patient's [[human skull|skull]] using a drill. [[Lesions]] at the targeted tissue were made with the help of fine [[electrodes]] inserted at the right angle into the subject's brain based on plotting charts and making sure important [[arteries]] and [[blood vessels]] were intact. The electrode was placed in a [[Endoscope|probe]], or a holder, with only its tip projecting. Upon the correct insertion of the holder into the brain tissue, air was injected and more scan images were taken. Then, after the medical team had made sure they were on the right track, the tip of the electrode was advanced to the plane of the [[cingulate]] where it was heated to 75-90&nbsp;°C. Once the first lesion was created it served as a center around which several other [[lesions]] were created.  In order to confirm whether lesions are made at the right place, [[Magnetic resonance imaging|scan]] images were taken postoperatively and analyzed.<ref name=" Rodgers">Joann Rodgers. (1992).Psychosurgery: Damaging the Brain to Save the Mind, HarperCollins, New York, 350-378, {{ISBN|0-06-016405-0}}</ref>

Recent technological advances, however, have made bilateral cingulotomy a more precise operation. For example, nowadays a [[neurosurgical]] team that performs the procedure can use an [[MRI]] to identify the location of the [[anterior]] and [[Posterior (anatomy)|posterior]] [[commissure]]s. This approach allows neurosurgeons to obtain a number of [[Coronal plane|coronal]] images, which are then used to calculate the [[stereotactic]] coordinates of the target in the anterior cingulate cortex, where lesions need to be made. Moreover, the MRI enables more precise differentiation of  the cell composition, and thus easily permits the identification of the [[grey matter]] in that region. This can then be further confirmed with the help of microelectrode recordings.<ref name=" Richter">{{cite journal | pmid = 15028136| year = 2004| last1 = Richter| first1 = E. O.| last2 = Davis| first2 = K. D.| last3 = Hamani| first3 = C.| last4 = Hutchison| first4 = W. D.| last5 = Dostrovsky| first5 = J. O.| last6 = Lozano| first6 = A. M.| title = Cingulotomy for psychiatric disease: Microelectrode guidance, a callosal reference system for documenting lesion location, and clinical results| journal = Neurosurgery| volume = 54| issue = 3| pages = 622-28; discussion 628-30| doi = 10.1227/01.neu.0000108644.42992.95| s2cid = 23872653}}</ref>