thalamotomy

Destruction of a selected portion of the thalamus by stereotaxy for the relief of pain, involuntary movements, epilepsy, and, rarely, emotional disturbances; produces few, if any, neurologic deficits or undesirable personality changes. [thalamus + G. tome, incision]

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thal·a·mot·o·my .thal-ə-'mät-ə-mē n, pl -mies a surgical operation involving electrocoagulation of areas of the thalamus to interrupt pathways of nervous transmission through the thalamus for relief of certain mental and psychomotor disorders

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n.

an operation on the brain in which a lesion is made in a precise part of the thalamus. It has been used to control psychiatric symptoms of severe anxiety and distress, in which cases the lesion is made in the dorsomedial nucleus of the thalamus, which connects with the frontal lobe. See also psychosurgery.

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thal·a·mot·o·my (thal″ə-motґə-me) [thalamus + Gr. -otomy] a stereotactic surgical technique for the discrete destruction of specific groups of cells within the thalamus; done to relieve pain, to alleviate the tremor and rigidity of Parkinson disease, and as psychosurgery to relieve certain anxiety states, psychoses, and obsessive-compulsive states.