THE MICHIGAN DAILY FRIDAYFE!
RTICOSTEROIDS:
study Chemical Causes of Schizophrenia
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By BARBARA LAZARUS
rof. Steven Fox and John
eskind of the Mental Health
larch Institute are investigat-
a new approach to the prob-
of determining the causes of
sophrenia. 01
chizophrenia is the disease
ch fills over a quarter of all
>ital beds in the United States.
though most people think that
zophrenia means a split per-
Ility, it actually refers to a
le group of related mental
rders, centering around a
re withdrawal from reality,
t fluctuations in emotional
tions, aAd complete loss of
rest in the world around the
schizophrenic Prof.
cently.
Fox said re-
Psychiatrists, psychologists, neu-
rophysiologists and biochemists,
searching for the cause of the
disease, suspect that the schizo-
phrenic differs physiologically
from a normal person.-It is also
possible that factors in the schizo-
phrenic's environment have caus-
ed him to develop abnormal be-
havior patterns, Prof. Fox ex-
plained.
Stress Differences
Several years ago a group of
men in Massachusetts discovered
that schizophrenics differ from
normal persons in their reaction
to stress. Schizophrenics produce
levels of adrenal corticosteroids
(hormones which are released in
reaction to stress) which are dif-
fered from levels found in normal
persons under the same circum-
stances. This discovery may lead
scientists to the cause of schizo-
phrenia through investigation of
the causes of this corticosteroid
difference and its relationship to
the disease, he said.
Prof. Fox and Liebeskind, work-
ing with animals and their basic
ability to withstand stress, found
that animals were much less af-
fected by stress if they had ex-
perienced some previous distress-
ing situation. They developed some
resistance to stress which carried
over to each traumatic situation
they encountered.
Normal animals, not under
strain, completely fell apart under
tension.
Rat Brain
Liebeskind has removed a part
of a rat's brain, the cingulate
cortex, and found that the animal
could not benefit as much from
pre-stress conditioning. This in-
dicated that there is a neural
basis for stress resistance located
in a certain section of the brain.
It is also known from animal
experiments in Oslo that if this
part of a rat's brain is stimulated,
there is an increase in the cor-
ticosteroid production. !
The part of the brain which
produces corticosteroids in hu-
mans may be the same section of
brain in animals which controls
their ability to develop stress re-
sistance. So in a very indirect way
these animals are similar to
schizophrenics because neither are
able to give a normal reaction to
stress and produce the proper
corticosteroids, he explained.
Animal Reactions
To test this hypothesis, Liebes-
kind is now investigating the re-
actions of an animal when it is
injected with serum from a-schizo-
phrenic's blood to see if it could
no longer benefit from pre-stress
training. He hopes to observe
whether the animal is resistant
any more, since this may indicate
that the injection interfered with
the corticosteroid output.
An animal injected with non-
schizophrenic blood may still be
able to build up this stress resist-
ance. This will indicate that some-
thing in the chemical make-up
of the schizophrenic's blood makes
him produce different amounts of
these corticosteroids and, there-
fore, makes him differ from a nor-
mal person.
These new findings possibly link
the section of brain with corticos-
teroid production and the sub-
sequent reactions to stress, he
said.
Prof. Fox believes that schizo-
phrenic research is still far from
being certain about definite causes
and cures.
Officials .Doubt
Flu Epidemic
An increase 'in absenteeism due
to respiratory diseases among stu-
dents in Ann Arbor schools is no
cause for fear of a flu epidemic,
the Washtenaw County Health
Department has reported.
The department said it has re-
ceived no repcvts of "any signifi-
cance" concerning influenza.
Schroeder
Cites Needs
In Hospitals
By LAURA WOLFGANG
"Michigan hospitals are not
adequately prepared to handle
children," claims Prof. Dorothy
Schroeder, of the School of Social
Work, who, in conjunction with
Prof. Ralph Fletcher, has con-
ducted a survey on children hos-
pitalized for mental illness.
In ,many institutions, children
and adults are mixed together.
This increases the difficulty of
handling education and other
specific children's problems. The
state hospital at Ypsilanti has had
a special children's program since
1952 and one has been started re-
cently at Kalamazoo, but these
are difficult to plan and run be-
cause of the limited amount of
information available.
Because of the lack of space,
only the most severely ill children
are hospitalized. According to the
survey, these stay about 40
months. It was found that there
were many difficulties in rehabili-
tating patients. Often, foster
homes or institutions cannot be
found and the child is kept in the
hospital after he is ready to be
discharged. For those who are not
severely ill, the state provides a
variety of out-patientiservices
such as child guidance clinics.
The study also showed a high
incidence of re-hospitalization or
admission to corrective institutions
for former patients.
There was no significant racial
or class predominance among the
children hospitalized although
there were two boys admitted for
every girl. It showed a steady in-
crease in the amount of children
hospitalized after the war.
Prof. Schroeder speculated that
this could be accounted for by the
increased interest in mental dis-
ease and could be related to the
breakup of families during the
war. Another possible reason list-
ed was the growth of families mi-
grating to this area, especially
from the South, which tends to
disrupt family life.
She cited three main reasons
for instigating this study. First,
it was felt that it would be a good
learning experience foi the stu-
dents of the School of Social Work.
Second, it would increase the
knowledge of hospital personnel
and last, add to the general data
on the subject.
"The study has been very suc-
cessful so far in indicating direc-
tions in treatment and facilities,"
Prof. Schroeder said.
Surgeon General
To Speak at 'U'
Dr. Luther L. Terry, Surgeon
General of the United States, will
speak at a public health assembly,
4 p.m. Monday in the Public
Health Auditorium under the
auspices of the school of public
health.
To Build New City Hall
-Daily-James Keson
NEW CITY HALL-Construction of the new home for Ann Arbor's city government will begin
next week. The six story structure, costing more than $2.4 million, will be located on the block
bounded by North Fifth, East Ann, East Huron and North Division streets and will replace five
buildings now housing city departments. The building is scheduled to be completed by April, 1963.
CIVIL WAR:
'U' Recruited
In 1861, shortly after secession
became an actuality, the students
of the University began to prepare
for the Civil War.
During the period from 1861 to
1865 almost 2,000 of these students
either dropped their educational
plans entirely or left them for an
indefinite period while they de-
voted their time to military drill..
A University battalion was cre-
ated which enrolled virtually every
student on campus. Since most of
the old muskets had been called
in by the government, sticks and
brooms were used as substitutes.
The president of the University,
Henry P. Tappan, set aside room
in the south end of the college
to be used for drill
Eager to Enlist
Despite the disruption the war
caused to their educational plans,
many of the students were eager
to enlist in the army. Most of
them were products of pioneer life
and were good hunters as well as
good shots.
Red, white and blue became the
favorite colors on campus, and so
many flags were raised that many
compared the town to a campsite.
A singer in Hangsterfers beer-
garden, a student hangout, ap-
peared one night draped in the,
American flag and sang the Star
Spangled Banner. The number was
so much of a success that the act
was performed every night.
Although strongly urged by
President Tappan and members of
the faculty to finish their last year
of schooling, the class of 1861
presents a remarkable record of
self-sacrifice. Seventeen of the 44
Law School students, 32 of the 62
literary college students, and 30
of the 40 Medical School students
offered their services to the coun-
try.
I Battalion for Union .Arn
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In addition to the over-all pro-
gram of drilling, three Guards
were established: the Tappan
Guard, the Chancellor Greys, and
the Ellsworth Zouaves. Seven of
the Michigan alumni serving in
the war became brigadier generals.
Every officer in the two regiments
from Ann Arbor was a University
man.
In 1864 the Regents compiled a
Roll of Honor listing all persons
from the University who had
served in the war. Later research
brought additional names to light
and Prof. Isaac N. Demmon com-
pleted the listing in 1916.
Students Work 'with Study
Instead of Writing Theses
The Detroit Area Study, besides
giving students training in the
methods of field research in the
social sciences, also permits stu-
dents to substitute field research
interviewing for the traditional
master's thesis in the sociology
department.
However, the most important as-
pect of it for the students is "the
experience of participating in good
research as a basis for training,"
John Scott of the sociology de-
partment, director of the study,
says.
Students elect the area study
as a two semester sequence, and it
provides an education on the in-
terviewing experience. Intensive
training is given to the students
beforehand, in which they develop
tests and are instructed in tech-
niques.
Since its inception in 1951, the
study has iterviewed 8,600 adults
who live in the Detroit area. Most,
of the interviewing has taken place
between semesters.
The data collected provides a
reservoir of information and sta-
tistics applicable to numerous
problems. Besides serving as a
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your campus sportswear center
SPECIALIZING FOR 28 YEARS IN FASHIONS FOR THE U. OF M. COEDS
SPORTSWEAR, DRESSES, PARTY DRESSES by FAMOUS FASHION HOUSES
resource for basic research in so'
cial sciences at the University, the
survey information is available to
greater Detroit and other com-
munities with similar interests and
problems.
For example, an architectural
firm might ask for information on
what types of people were moving
into the city.
Besides producing students who
are better trained in the survey
methods of sociology, the study
has published many reports writ-
ten by faculty members. Contri-
butions in research include stud-
ies on "Ideal Family Size in De-
troit," "The Meaning of Work,"
and "Party Leadership and Poli-
tical Behavior."
A recent summary of the ac-
tivities of students participating
in the study was published in 1960
in the form of "Student Analysis
Reports Based on the Detroit Area
Study Data: 1951-1960."
The study is associated with the
Institute of Social Research and
the sociology department, and
presently includes 41 students.
Most of them are majoring in
the social sciences, but the study
also draws people from television,
speech and. library science.
In addition to two faculty parti-
cipants, the study is managed by
an administrative teaching staff
of four members.
Fossil Stocks
Aid Geologists
The Department of Paleontology
in the University Natural History
Museum has huge stockpiles of
fossils never put on public dis-
play.
The fossils, according to Prof.
Lewis B. Kellum of the geology
department, are not important in
themselves but are collected to
solve geological problems.
The paleontology department
boasts extensive catalogues of
specimens collected all over the
world. These specimens are donat-
ed by local groups or are pur-
chased by the University.
The fossils are used to date
rocks, to correlate different geo-
logical finds, or to determine a
geological time sequence. One of
the most important functions of
the collection is to aid in the
drawing of new geological maps
or to refine the geological map
of Michigan, Prof. Kellum says.
Lorrie Deb
Maui Stover
Petli
Jonathan Logan
Maid of Lucerne
Joan Miller
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