Evening star., 1938-07-09
OF STARS
MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress
in Field, Laboratory
and Study.
By THOMAS r. HENRY.

ana Study.
By THOMAS r. HENRY.
A new treatment OF catalonia, one Of
the most hopeless types Of insanity, by
alternate doses Of sodium amytal and
the paradoxical drug, benzedrine sui
fate, was described before the American
Association for the Advancement Of Sci
ence at Ottawa last week.
This form Of therapy, used to date in
only small group of cases, was pre-
sented by DR.. Eugene Davidoff Of the
psychiatric hospital at Syracuse, N. Y.
Definite improvement, he said, has been
shown by one third Of the patients In
contrast to "a per cent Of a control group
suffering from the same disease.
The catalonia victim might be de-
scribed as suffering from a locked
BRAIN" The malady is one Of the forms
Of schizophrenia, or mind-splitting,
which recently has been treated with
good results by administrations of shock
doses Of insulin or metrazol. The ex-
treme catatonic, however, has shown a
poor response. In this form Of the mall
ady the victim remains for long periods
mute and even motionless, appearing
COulHlCUCly OCd0 w t11C OuIolQC WOIlus
The catatonic, however, sometimes
breaks suddenly out of his stupor with
extreme violence.
One of the effects Of benzedrine sui
fate, q drug which recently has swept
through American colleges because of
reports that 1t temporarily sharpened the
intelligence and produced better marks
in examinations, is supposed to be that
of opening up more association path
ways in the brain. Ideas and sensory
impressions can get around faster and
form more associations with each other.
One explanation Of catalonia is that it
is due to exactly the opposite condition
the blocking of most of the cerebral
cortex pathways. Only a few are left
open so that the whole mental life of
the individual Is paralyzed. Given to
normal persons, as was brought out in
other papers presented before the Amer
ican Association psychologists, the drug
has an unpredictable effect. In most
cases it produces feeling of exhilera-
ton, better memory and coordination of
movement, better conference of thinking
and greatly ability to observe In some,
however, its effects are almost the op-
posite - depression, nervousness and
dullness. It is antagonistic to sleep and
has been used with considerable success
by physicians in the treatment of the
strange mental disease, narcolepsy, in
which the victim is likely to fall sound
asleep at any moment.
In treating catatonic cases the assump-
tion must be made that the particular
patients belong to the class upon whom
the drug will have a favorable effect.
The use of the amytal is to produce
alternate periods of depression, based
roughly on an analogy with the insulin
shock treatment where the patient is
thrown into positive coma. The stimu-
lated brain Is given a rest between peri
ods of exercise.
Although results to date have been
hopeful, 1t was stressed that period of
from 5 to 10 years must be allowed be-
fore any conclusions are reached re-
garding permanent improvement in any
form of achizophrenia
A great advantage Of the treatment,
1t was stressed, is that catatonic often
is brought temporarily out of his strange
stupor by heavy dose of benzedrine sui
fate so that the psychiatrist can talk
with him, and use various forms of
psychoanalytical treatment. One reason
why the catatonic case always has been
considered so hopeless Is that he is so
completely walled into dream world of
his own that the physician cannot break
into it.
Reports on the use of the drug with
normal persons were much less opti-
mlstlc than those sometimes expressed
Few to whom 1t was given showed the
f1111 hanaAciol oHa
was some evidence that it might be
slightly habit-forming. Alcoholics, it
was found, show real liking for it.
Because OF its antagonism to stuporous
states of all kinds it has been found a
valuable antidote for mild alcoholic
comas. 1t also awakens persons who
have taken overdoses of sleeping pow
ders and has some value in curing bed
Wettlng OF children which is caused by
too sound sleep.
In many cases, however those who
took it for extended periods reported
headaches, extreme nervousness, feel
ings Of anxiety and fear.
In an attempt to learn the behavior
OF rocks during great earth disturbances,
such as earthquakes, specimens of vari-
Gus kinds of rock will be subjected to
high pressures in the laboratory under
conditions Stimulating those of nature,
according to an announcement from the
Geological Society of America.
DR.. David Griggs, Harvard research
geologist widely known for his expert
mental work on the reformation of
rocks, has been given a grant by the
society for the construction of instru-
ments to test the flow" or creep" of
rocks under such pressures. He believes
his investigation will reveal facts which
will help engineers in selecting safe
sites for dams, skyscrapers and other
heavy structures.
Rocks, he explains, undergo profound
changes in seismic upheavals. They be-
come plastic and flow like fluid. New
crystals may be formed during the flow,
and very different rocks than the origi-
nal ones result
Earlier experiments by DR.. Griggs
have shed considerable light on what
happens to rocks during periods of
mountain building, earthquakes and
other earth disturbances. The changes
vary with each kind OF rock used in the