Evening star., 1947-08-06

Every schoolchild today knows about condi-
toned refleXes but some explanation of the
term is due to those who finished their educa-
ton before 1880. It Is the title given in
translation to the work Of Ivan Petrovich
Pavlov, the Russian physiologist, which con-
tains his famous dog story. For six days
Pavlov rang q dinner bell and then fed the
dog. On the seventh day there was no food
Pavlov rang ths bell and the dogs mouth
watered. He had conditioned a reflex.
Pavlov,scientifically measured something that
had been known for centuries and long had
been termed association. He found that when
q bell of different tone was rung, the con-
ditioned reflex was not stimulated. Likewise
there was no stimulation of the salivary glands
when the dog was toxic from drugs
Gradually the conditioned reflex came into
American education, psychology and psychiatry
At Freedmen's Hospital work is in progress in
conditioning a. reflex against alcohol in those
who have become chronic alcoholics The pa
.ient is conditioned until the taste, sight or
smell Of liquor makes him violently i'll. 1t is
not cure because a conditioned reflex tends
to atrophy after removal Of the conditioning
agent Pavlov's bell, or in the case of alco-
holics, the drugs used to make liquor un-
palatable).
This work Is of special interest because of
the Hebert bill, just signed by the President
The bill taxes the liquor trade to the amount
Of $4,000 for the establishment of clinics for
alcoholics in the District and the conditioned
reflex undoubtedly will be one of the therapies
considered in planning the program.
DR.. E. Y. Williams, West Indian born psy-
chiatrist of the Howard University faculty, is
conducting the work at Freedmen's. His first
problem was to save drunkards lives not to
condition them against relapse of drinking.
When he started, the mortality rate of those
admitted for alcoholism was 10 per cent. They
have had only two deaths in recent years,
two smoke" wood alcohol drinkers who were
admitted in a state of shock and never rallied.
The alcoholics, even those with severe de-
lirium tremens, have been kept alive with
heavy dosages of thiamin chloride (vitamin b.
They were given 200 milligrams day, whereas
so Is the normal dosage. Sedation was used
in the case of violent patients and sometimes
restraints were applied Gin other words, they
were bound to the hospital co0. Vitamin c
was given, either the synthetic protein or the
natural vitamin contained In orange juice.
Orange Juice Experience.
1t was the refusal of a patient to take
orange juice that started DR.. Williams on his
work on conditioned reflex therapy. The pa
tient was 40 years old. He explained to the
doctor that his mother gave him castor oil in
orange juice when he was boy and that he
had never been able to get orange juice
down since. DR.. Williams reasoned, If con-
ditioned-refiex aversion to drinking orange
juice can last that long, why cannot we con-
dtion valuable reflex against drinking whisky?
He asked the pharmacologist for drug that
would cause nausea if placed in whisky.
Apromorphine was suggested.
DR.. Williams has naivete and enthusiasm
in research that probably marked the work OF
other Negro scientists, such as the late Dr.
George Washington Carver in the chemistry of
peanut oil. DR.. Williams was unaware that
he was giving the same treatment that Keeley
arrived at early in the century in the secret
"cure" for alcoholism administered in his in
stitute and its branches Nor was Dr. Williams
fully aware of how dangerous Is the combina-
tion of alcohol and morphine. After several
dosages of apromorphine in whisky, the first
patient nearly died.
"oh," said the pharmacologist when it was
reported to him, II had no idea you were going
to give him more than one dose. Try emetine
hydrochloride Ca derivative of ipecac)"