The Chemical Basis of Clinical Psychiatry by A. Hoffer and H. Osmond (review)

BOOK REVIEWS The Chemical Basis of Clinical Psychiatry. By A. Hoffer and H. Osmond. Springfield, 111.: Charles C Thomas, i960. Pp. xvi+277. $8.50. Those who cannot recognize the existence of an underlying chemical substratum to behavior and those who insist that the gap between chemistry and behavior is too wide to bridge will not appreciate Hoffer and Osmond's book. Odiers, however (and let us hope tiat diey constitute an exceedingly numerous group), who recognize that exploration of dark and unpromising waters can produce great discoveries, will read it with satisfaction . In the opening chapter the authors describe die conditions and difficulties which an investigator ofdie organic factors in nervous and mental disease encounters. Implicit are the characteristics which such an investigator must have to be successful: courage, determination , and resourcefulness; but, most especially, the ability to follow faint leads which are certain to be regarded by others as dubious. The audiors of this volume have proposed as a hypothesis a chemical basis for the anxiety and affective disturbances ofschizophrenia. They present their own observations and conclusions and attempt to extract from the confused body ofresearch in this area the salient data which are relevant to their own hypotheses. At the basis oftheir biochemical hypodiesis is the notion diat adrenalin, and certain ofits metabolic products—particularly indoles—may be responsible for the anxiety and behavioral abnormalities which are associated widi schizophrenia. In reviewing the evidence, die authors attempt to demonstrate how the many metabolites, synthetic drugs, and enzymes affecting die concentration and action ofthis amine are capable ofinfluencing anxiety, mood, and effective behavior .Theydevoteattentionnotonlytothebiochemicalandpharmacologicalstudiesconcerned with the adrenalin hypothesis but also to the many interesting human experiments conducted by dieir multidisciplinary group in developing the hypothesis. Considerable space is devoted to a consideration ofthree ofthe more interesting adrenalin derivatives: adrenochrome, leucoadrenochrome, and adrenolutin; particular attention is given to the formation of diese substances from adrenalin, their relationship to LSD-psychosis, dieir effects in human volunteers, and their biochemical and pharmacological properties. In critically evaluating dieir hypodiesis, die audiors attempt to meet the many criticisms that have been raised, especially those originating from biochemists who have not succeeded in detecting in body fluids die presence ofindole-containing adrenalin metabolites. Despite the magnitude oftheir task, die audiors have succeeded not only in adequately reviewing the general field, but in providing an admirably candid report ofthe difficulties 485 that have beset their efforts to establish a scientific basis for psychiatric research. This volume is recommended to anyone interested in any phase ofpsychiatry, to all who have the courage to pursue a challenging hypodiesis, and to diose who can take pleasure in a lively , well-written account ofsuch a pursuit. L. G. Abood University ofIllinois Histonotny ofthe Cerebral Cortex. By S. T. ???. Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing Co., 1959. Pp. ix+434. $14.50. This highly unusual product ofmore than a quarter-century's work and diought by Professor Bok and his staffis susceptible to neither easy description nor criticism. The goal ofthe work is best summarized in the introductory remarks ofdie audior: This book is the first survey ofresults obtained by means ofa new method ofmicroscopic research on the cerebral cortex. The purpose ofthis method ... is to reveal quantitative laws about the cortical structure by measuring its constituent parts, and to interpret these laws in a biological language; in otherwords, to build biological hypotheseswith theaid ofnumerical laws derived from histological measurements. It is the method by which thesciences ofthe non-living nature today aredeveloping in so astonishing a way. ... It was by exact measurements ofdifferent types that medieval astrology was changed into astronomy, and I am convinced that measuring will turn the histology oftoday into the histonotny oftomorrow. In pursuing this goal, the audior has used quantitative or semi-quantitative means to examine relationships amongst elements of the cerebral cortex in vertebrates and man. "Quantitative relations between the perikaryon and nucleus"; "Neuron size and cortical layers"; and "Body size and the extent ofthe cerebral cortex" are three representative chapter headings which suggest the flavor ofdie work, though by no means its limits. A rather extensive second chapter examines the effects ofcortical curvature on the arrangement ofcells and layers. The author finds that, in neuronpatterning...