Trepanation

          Trepanation is a procedure where a hole is drilled into the skull for a benefit. Leading up to today's craniectomy, trepanation is considered the world's oldest form of surgery, meant for evil spirits and demons to be released from the head. Although now it is for mostly head injuries and exploratory practices, there are some who believe that trepanation. Since the 60's, trepanation was utilized to gain "full access of the mind" and other mystical ideals, leading some to voluntarily trepan their own skulls, and to work under the guise of a doctor and trepan others. The decrease of 'pressure' on the brain leads some to believe their brain power can ultimately be increased, similar to the notions in our prehistory that evil spirits were released once trepanned. 

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          In terms of medical experimentation, however, in modern America most cases of trepanation are voluntary- and self-performed. Amanda Fielding, founder of the Beckley Foundation which was founded to study higher states of consciousness, drilled a hole into her own skull to achieve these very results, once she found that there was no doctor willing to perform this procedure. In fact, many have trepanned themselves for this very reason, including some physicians and esoteric practitioners. This is a quote from Fielding when asked about how she wished to go about that research: "You can't get the research authorized because there's not enough evidence to support it, but you can't get the evidence without research." Fielding states, quite accurately, that there is a taboo against trepanation in the modern world. This gives rise to the question- should we allow people to trepan themselves? And, to Fielding's quote, if trepanation leads to a higher state of consciousness, should we focus more effort into trepanation?

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Citations

          Cox, J. (2013, August 14). An interview with the woman who drilled a hole in her head to open up her mind. https://www.vice.com/en/article/bnj4qv/drilling-a-hole-in-your-head-for-a-higher-state-of-consciousness 

          Gross, Charles G. A Hole in the head: More tales in the history of Neuroscience. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012. 

          Verano, J. W. (2016). Holes in the head: The art and archaeology of trepanation in ancient Peru. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library & Collection. 

          “Heartbeat in the Brain.” IMDb. Accessed April 15, 2024. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt10050372/?ref_=tt_mv_close.