Neurosurgery for mental disorder

The authors review contemporary indications for neurosurgical interventions in the management of chronic and refractory mental disorder, the procedures involved, their efficacy and known adverse effects. These data are presented within the context of a brief historical overview of the use of neurosurgery for mental disorder. In addition to a consideration of neurosurgical procedures that rely on the creation of putative therapeutic lesions, we also review two novel, non-destructive neurosurgical electrostimulation treatments that may represent viable alternatives to conventional ablative neurosurgery: vagus nerve stimulation and deep brain stimulation.