DRUGS AS ADJUVANTS TO PSYCHIATRIC DIAGNOSIS.
Abstract
Based upon an evaluation of several chemical theories of psychotic behavior and the pharmacological action of psychotropic drugs, the author formulated a group of integrated hypotheses that characterized the functional psychoses, as varieties of autonomic neurohumoral dysfunction. In order to investigate the hypotheses generated by the formulation, measurements of pupillary dilatation and constriction were employed. The confirmation of these hypotheses in previous studies stimulated the formulation of additional hypotheses which could be tested by conjunctival instillation of several drugs and determining this effect on pupillary dilation and constriction in normals and in psychotics. The first phase of the experimental program is contained in this report. The pupillary reactivity of twenty-four normal adults was measured by means of an electronic infra-red pupillograph. The kinetics of pupillary constriction and dilatation were obtained for several drugs, i.e. pilocarpine, homatropine, regitine, eserine, epinephrine, and cocaine. A preliminary evaluation of the effects of these drugs on a small sample of patients suggests that aberrant light and dark reflexes are manifested by patients in response to pilocarpine, homatropine, regitine and epinephrine. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0821953
Entities
People
- Leonard S. Rubin