http://exhibits.library.stonybrook.edu/mfp/files/original/55248297d8904fe5afc2dcc77536e026.pdf f0156d513a03544f0b41b83409622f9f PDF Text Text / STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK €- Health Sciences Center - School of Medicine ' De p :1 r‘ment of Psychiatry t and Behavioral Science Mr. Gerald Stony Brook, N. Y. 11794 Phone: 516-444-2413 February 6, 1975 \ Piel, Editor Scientific American, Inc. hlS Madison Avenue New York, New York Dear Mr. U I ’lfz/I’,,..———e'v“ w 10017 Piel, two topics for your consideration -— American the effects of seizures (con— for reports in Scientific vulsive therapy) on mood and behavior in man, and developments of I should like to suggest quantitative electroencephalography in the study of psychoactive drugs. These topics are quite singular but there are peripheral relationships' educa— which makes their review complementary. tional and social reasons. Both are timely for is based on the observa— tion that repeated seizures at daily intervals elicits long—term’effects on mood, thought processess and affects in man. It is effective in as a treat— allevi ting severe depression and mania, and was developedcoma (insulin Convulsive therapy: This treatment de in the 1930's, concurrent with studies of daily coma) and leucotomy (psychosurgery). Their concurrent development has led to some confusion that these treatments are equivalent, and the View same name, "shock therapy" is erroneously applied to all. Many few decades, their mechanisms of action as the same. During the past and leucotomy however, insulin coma has been replaced by drug therapy, (psychosurgery) has found a limited niche in the treatment of a small, ment m well defined group of mentally ill. Repeated seizures, in contrast, are used more widely, and in comparison with other therapies for de- pression, exhibit better therapeutic results. While it is customary to say that we know little of the . mode of action of these therapies, the opposite is true. The neuro— seizures physiology of the seizure and cerebral sequellae of repeated the induction, seizure the of The parameters have been defined. on perform— effects of different electrode placements, and the effects known of the While is less studied. been have and memory ance tests modern the to much relevant is that biochemical effects, there is ‘ I �-2biogenic amine hypotheses, and some unique studies of cholinergic mechanisms are particularly contributory to our understanding of the role of neurohumors in brain function. Indeed, it is fair to say that we know as much about the biochemical aspects of seizures as we do about antidepressants and sedatives. basic science point of view, the ECT process contributes to our understanding of seizures (epilepsy), the role of cerebral hemis— pheres in behavior and particularly, memory; and such psychologic mechan— isms as the role of personality in depression and changes in task performance with changes in brain function. From a educational point of view, a presentation of the ECT data may alleviate misconceptions about 'shock therapy' and provide independent information to allow the reconsideration of laws restricting seizure therapies now in force in California and under consideration elsewhere. From an Some of the recent physiologic, biochemical, and psychologic data were brought together by the NIMH in a conference, published in mid—1971; entitled, "Psychobiology of Convulsive Therapy", edited by myself, Seymour Kety, James McGaugh and Thomas Williams (V. H. Winston, (memory) Washington, 197h). ‘ z Quantitative ElectroencephalOgraphy: The measurement of the electrical activity of the brain has been a subject of interest for more than four decades. During the past 15 years, the development of 2. - sophisticated quantification methods based on digital computer programs and an understanding of the requirements for contrdued experimentation has defined applications in psychopharmacology which are of general academic interest. Psychoactive drugs, hallucinogens, and drugs of abuse have defined effects on brain function in the alert subject. These effects are drug specific, that is, each compound has a defined signature which is used to classify the compound. When new compounds are assayed, EEG classification provides a prediction of their clinical application before human trials The are undertaken. techniques are sufficently well developed to assess dose response curves and to measure bioavailability and neurophysiologic equivalence of compounds. Lately, the EEG methods have been compared with blood level measurements to study the pharmacokinetics of drugs affecting the brain. Quantitative EEG has been used to develop automatic sleep classification scoring systems. Parallel with these systems, is the de— velopment of automatic drug classification systems. �applied to problems outside psychoIn pharmacology. our understanding of the ECT process, the methods have shown that electrode placement and hemispheric localization are contributory to clinical effects. The methods have been used in studies of drugs of abuse, particularly in the role of THC-delta-Q in cannabis, and in examining the realtions between heroin and methadone and their interactions The methods have been with narcotic antagonists. Some students have assessed the effects of hyponsis, zen, and transcendental meditation using these methods with some success. . From an educational point of view, a discussion of quantitative analysis would be of interest to psychopharmacologists, neurophysio— logists, psychologists, and drug abuse specialists. EEG I commend both topics to your consideration. In part, this occasioned by discussions with Dr. Alfred M. Freedman of the New York Medical College, who has been a firm supporter of these programs for many years. Should it be useful, I can supply the usual literature letter is and suggest the names of Thank you scientists who are active in both research areas. for your consideration. Sincerely yours, Fink, M. D. Professor of Psychiatry Max - Merd � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Correspondence Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Correspondence to: Piel, Gerald Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context mfp-05-00-028-1-066 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1975 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource <a title="Fink, Max, 1923-" href="http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n79039548" target="_blank">Fink, Max, 1923-</a> Subject The topic of the resource Correspondence -- Correspondence Relation A related resource The Max Fink Collection Description An account of the resource Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a title="IN COPYRIGHT - EDUCATIONAL USE PERMITTED" href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/" target="_blank">IN COPYRIGHT - EDUCATIONAL USE PERMITTED</a> Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries. 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