Bilateral Cingulotomy

Bilateral cingulotomy is a form of psychosurgery, introduced in 1948 as an alternative to lobotomy. Today it is mainly used in the treatment of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In the early years of the twenty-first century it was used in Russia to treat addiction. It is also, rarely, used in the treatment of chronic pain. The objective of this surgical procedure is the severing of the supracallosal fibres of the cingulum bundle, which pass through the anterior cingulate gyrus.