town, N.Y. schizophrenia-is there an answer?What is schizophrenia? What causes it? How is it treated? What is the outlook for its control? These are the questions addressed in a booklet prepared by the NIMH Center for Studies of Schizophrenia.Directed to readers who have little or no professional training in schizophrenia-related disciplines, the booklet gives qualified explanations of some of the complex issues concerning schizophrenia. It also conveys something of the despair, sense of unreality, fear, and loneliness that a schizophrenic individual experiences.The booklet describes 'The World of the Schizophrenic" through the use of analogy and the words of patients. It briefly tells what is known about causes-the influence of genetics, family, environment, and biochemistry. It discusses common treatment techniques. The booklet closes with a discussion of the prospects for understanding schizophrenia in the coming decade and the outlook for individuals who are now victims of this most prevalent mental disorder.

The present study tested the hypothesis that 12-yr-old sons of alcoholic fathers will evidence an excess of fast EEG activity. Such sons have been shown to be at high risk for alcoholism. In this study, EEGs were recorded on a sample of 265 subjects who had been selected to maximize risk for deviant behavior (children of schizophrenics and children of psychopathic or character disordered parents) or selected as controls (children of normal parents). The sample included 27 children of alcoholic fathers and 258 children of nonalcoholic parents. The hypothesis was confirmed, suggesting that the biological risk for alcoholism in sons of alcoholics may relate to biological factors predisposing to alcoholism.

Itil, T.M.:The Discovery of psychotropic drugs by computer-analyzed cerebral bioelectrical potentials (CEEG). Drug Dev. Res. 1:373-407, 1981.The psychotropic properties of nine compounds were discovered in healthy subjects based on the effects of computer-analyzed cerebral bioelectrical potentials or computer-analyzed electroencephalograms (CEEG). Quantitative pharmaco-EEG (QPEEG) studies demonstrated that CEEG profiles of mianserin (GB-94), GC-46, cyclacozine, mesterolone, and estradiol valerate, resembled the CEEG profiles of tricyclic antidepressants. CEEG profiles of d-and I-norgestrel and cyproterone acetate showed similarities to benzodiazepine anxiolytics, and profiles of lisuride hydrogen maleate resembled psychostimulant compounds. Thus, antidepressant, anxiolytic, and "psychostimulant" effects were predicted for these compounds. Subsequent clinical trials confirmed the antidepressant effects of mianserin, GC-46, and mesterolone in depressed patients; the anxiolytic effects of I-norgestrel and cyproterone acetate in anxiety syndromes; and the "psychostimulant" properties of lisuride hydrogen maleate in the "geriatric" population. However, animal pharmacology and biochemical investigations failed to predict any psychotropic properties for these compounds.

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After being deprived of cigarettes for 24 hours, eight young males who were heavy smokers showed significant changes in the electroencephalogram analyzed electronically and by digital computer. Compared to their records before smoking deprivation, there was a significant increase in slow frequencies. Resumed smoking reversed these trends.