Physiological Effects of Schizophrenic Body Fluids

Abstract

Controversy has raged for over half a century as to whether schizophrenia, the most severe of all mental illnesses, could have an organic basis or whether its origin lay strictly in the psyche. Over the years, physiologists have probed into almost every aspect of the soma in the quest for some abnormality which would account for the schizophrenic syndrome. Many possibilities have been considered, investigated to a degree and then abandoned when definitive answers were not forthcoming. A dominant approach throughout has been the search for some psychotoxic material circulating in schizophrenic body fluids. Activity has been spurred by the recurrent recognition that chemical agents such as the ergot alkaloids, mescaline, bulbocapnine and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25), could induce in normal persons transient mental disturbances similar to those seen in schizophrenia.

The Primacy of Hope

“…40 Here, this mimicking is about our own potential. 41 We mimic-when caring is at its best-because we are given the message that we are on our way to our adult potential. "According to hope theory as articulated by psychologists," McGeer writes, "hope is a cognitive activity that involves setting concrete goals, finding pathways to achieve those goals, and tapping one's willpower or agency to move along pathways to the specified goals."…”

The Biochemistry of the Functional Psychoses

“…To sift the relevant from the irrelevant among the vast mass of data can only be a highly subjective undertaking, and others may have made different choices. The subject or some aspects of it have been reviewed by competent authors in recent years (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) to whom I freely acknowledge my indebtedness. Most of the ideas here presented have been expressed before in one form or another.…”

Méthodologie Pour Une Etude Biochimique De La Schizophrénie*

“…Le lecteur qui s'interesse au problerne en lui-meme des bases organiques de la schizophrenic consultera avantageusement les revues de la litterature en ce domaine, auxquelles divers auteurs se sont consacres et dont nous citerons les plus recentes et les moins lacunaires (16,22,5,17,30,31). C'est la egalement qu'il aura acces a une bibliographie detaillee et specifique, Au cours de cet ouvrage, nous ne renverrons dans notre bibliographie qu'aux etudes portant specialement sur la methodologie et qu'aux auteurs auxquels nous empruntons une idee ou un ecrit.…”