Autonomic Responses in Prefrontal Leucotomy

Reitman, F.

doi:10.1192/bjp.91.384.318

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Carscallen, Buck, and Hobbs (1951) have shown that after leucotomy schizophrenics show impiroved temperature regulation. These findings also are in line with Reitman's (1945) conclusions that with schizophrenic patients after standard leucotomy there is a tendency towards increased rather than decreased " homeostasis ". We would add that leucotomy also reduces the abnormal autonomic activity associated with the mental disease.…”

Section: Change In Palmar Sweating After Leucotomysupporting

confidence: 91%

A Persisting Change in Palmar Sweating Following Prefrontal Leucotomy

Elithorn¹,

Piercy²,

Crosskey³

1954

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

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Le Gros Clark (1948) has suggested that the changes in the emotional life brought about by prefrontal leucotomy indicate that the frontal association areas may play an important part in the nervous regulations of autonomic function. As palmar sweating is under sympathetic control and is known to vary in a sensitive fashion with psychological stimuli, it seemed worthwhile to study the effect of leucotomy on resting palmar sweating and on the sudomotor reflexes.Since the work of Kuno (1934) there has been an unfortunate tendency to regard palmar sweating as independent of thermo-regulatory requirements, and as purely emotional in origin. However, the earlier work of Richter (1929) suggests that palmar sweating is not independent of temperature regulation requirements. Our own preliminary observations confirmed that if the subject is appreciably off heat balance then thermo-regulatory requirements normally take precedence over psychic influences. Our doubts on this score have recently been amply confirmed by Conklin (1951) who showed that when other factors were controlled, palmar skin resistance varied inversely as the environmental temperature.In order to form an estimate of the influence of thermo-regulatory requirements on palmar skin resistance, records were also kept of the mean environmental temperature, and of palmar skin temperature. Unfortunately, as explained below, skin temperature recordings were not made on all our subjects.In addition to the influences of thermal and psychological factors, it is likely that palmar sweating is also related to muscular activity (Freeman and Simpson, 1938). This is a factor which in this series of observations it was not practicable to control. Although there is evidence that in this study this factor was not important, its possible influences must be kept in mind in interpreting our findings. Increases in environmental temperature and in muscular activity will tend to increase both palmar sweating and blood flow in the skin and thus, as skin temperature depends on blood flow, these factors will cause a positive correlation between sweat rate and skin temperature. Anxiety, on the other hand (except in so far as it increases metabolism), causes sweating and vasoconstriction. This variable will therefore cause a negative correlation between palmar sweating and skin temperature. Thus the correlation coefficient derived from concurrent observations on sweat rate and blood flow will vary between -1 and +1 depending on the respective contributions of these factors. That is to say, this value will increase positively as psychic factors are reduced in importance as a variable.Methods The palmar skin resistance was measured with an apparatus similar to that described by Grant (1946). Recordings of the psychogalvanic responses were made on photographic paper. The technique has been described and illustrated elsewhere (Elithorn, Piercy, and Crosskey, 1951). Palmar skin temperature was measured originally with a commercial " thermistor" ; this was inadvertently broken by a patient...

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Section: Change In Palmar Sweating After Leucotomysupporting

confidence: 91%

A Persisting Change in Palmar Sweating Following Prefrontal Leucotomy

Elithorn¹,

Piercy²,

Crosskey³

1954

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry

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“…Lobotomy has been shown to result hi widespread changes in the autonomic balance (10), and it undoubtedly induces further changes in the nervous system and perhaps indirectly in other bodily systems. If such is the case, it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to determine whether a behavioral change following lobotomy is a direct result of brain damage or an indirect result of induced changes in other parts of the organism following lobotomy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies of anxiety: II. The effects of lobotomy on a feeding inhibition in dogs.

Pe¹

1950

Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology

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A method for producing a feeding inhibition and a variety of anxiety symptoms in dogs has been described in an earlier paper (6).Dogs were trained to eat in a conditioning stock and were then subjected to electric shock applied to the right front'foot during feeding until stable feeding inhibitions were established. A variety of anxiety symptoms were observed in inhibited animals including tics, tremors, disordered respiration, tachycardia, catalepsy, struggle, barking, resistance to entering the stock, and aversion of the head from the food box. The pattern of symptoms varied from dog to dog but in every case included one or more of the reactions just listed. Anxiety symptoms appeared as responses to the delivery of food following one or more presentations of food and shock. Later, however, there was a spread of anxiety to other aspects of the experimental situation. Except in the case of one animal, F68, which had a spontaneous feeding inhibition, the inhibition and anxiety symptoms were definitely a function of the conditioning procedure (6).

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“…In this case the lesion was thought to be central. Reitman (1945) and many other workers have demonstrated changes in autonomic functions following bilateral prefrontal leucotomy. Taking advantage of this operation Livingston and his co-workers (Livingston, Chapman, Livingston, and Kraintz, 1948) have shown that electrical stimulation of the orbital surface of the frontal lobes may cause marked changes in the blood pressure and in respiration.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

“…At that time she suggested that the frontal poles were autonomic centres distinct from the motor cortex but was able to adduce little evidence as to their exact role. Since Kennard's review Reitman (1945) and several subsequent authors have reported transient changes in autonomic regulatory functions following prefrontal leucotomy. Apart from the observations of Fairman and his co-workers (Fairman, Livingston, and Poppen, 1950), we are not aware of any previous studies to investigate whether unilateral autonomic changes can be demonstrated following unilateral leucotomy.…”

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confidence: 99%