NIMH 



The extramural research program of NIMH is 

 multifaceted and hroadly based, reflecting the 

 complexity of mental health issues. The examples 

 included in this section, while obviously not indi- 

 cative of the full range of Institute-supported re- 

 search, are considered representative of current 

 trends manifesting themselves in research — i.e., a 

 biological orientation that requires the skills and 

 techniques of more than one discipline to inte- 

 grate bodies of knowledge and interest in basic 

 research that has pragmatic implications. Specific 

 projects of current and special interest which fit 

 these criteria include: 



• Harvey, John, "Effects of Central Nervous 

 System Lesions on Drug Actions." This re- 

 search addresses the study of the biochemi- 

 cal transmitter systems in the brain, how the 

 transmitter substances contribute to the pro- 

 pagation of neural impulses, and how the 

 biochemical systems interact within the 

 brain. The study makes use of behavioral, 

 neurological, pharmacological, electrophy- 

 siological, and histological techniques. The 

 understanding of the neural transmission/ 

 coding process is considered fundamental to 

 the understanding of central nervous system 

 conditions. An important sideproduct of 

 these studies has been the determination that 

 several drugs that have been used clinically 

 have neurotoxic properties. 



• Snyder, Solomon, "Neurochemical Actions 

 of Psychotropic Drugs." Basic to the under- 

 standing of the mechanism of action of psy- 

 chotropic drugs is the understanding of the 

 site of such action: the receptor. This study 

 relies on the techniques of neurochemistry, 

 pharmacology, and histology. Though this 

 research is basic in nature it has resulted in 

 an inexpensive and reliable technique for 

 assaying a psychotherapeutic drug and its 

 active metabolites from blood samples. 



• Marler, Peter, "Comparative Study of Vocal 

 Learning." This research has acted to inte- 

 grate and update much earlier data that fo- 

 cused on the nature-nurture controversy. 

 Using birds as the experimental animal, this 

 investigator formulated a sensory template 

 theory of vocal development by demonstrat- 

 ing, through auditory feedback techniques, 

 that both vocal perception and production 

 were modifiable. Recent evidence suggests 

 that the auditory template hypothesis may be 

 fruitful in the understanding of human 

 speech perception and development. 



Current projects of interest within the NIMH 

 intramural program include: 



John B. Calhoun. Ph.D. Social organization and population 

 density in rodents. 



Giulio L. Canloni. M.D. Study of the S-Adenosylmethionine 

 synthetase of yeast. 



Werner A. Klee. Ph.D. Studies on the biochemical basis of 

 narcotic drug action. 



Dennis L. Murphy. M.D. Blood platelets as models for the 

 study of neurotransmitter function. 



David M. Neville. Jr.. M.D. The role of the ceil membrane in 

 cellular organization. 



Candace B. Pert. Ph.D. The physiological function of opiate 

 receptors and their endogenous ligands. 



Louis Sokoloff. M.D. Studies of regional circulation in the 

 metabolism of the brain. 



Basic research areas that merit continuing or 

 additional attention within NIMH in the near fu- 

 ture include: 



• Basic biological and developmental studies. 

 Research in the brain amine systems appears 

 promising and is basic to understanding the 

 mechanisms of action of potentially thera- 

 peutic drugs, and the biorhythmic activity of 

 the brain particularly as it may relate to cy- 

 clic illnesses and emotional development. Oth- 

 er biologically oriented areas that merit fur- 

 ther attention are the abnormal levels of cer- 

 tain enzymes found in mental patients, be- 

 havioral genetics, and the neurological and 

 chemical bases for abnormal psychological 

 effects. 



• Early adolescent psychobiology and develop- 

 ment. Alarmingly high rates of pregnancy, 

 venereal disease, alcohol and drug abuse, 

 vandalism and personal violence, and depres- 

 sion and suicide in early adolescence point to 

 the need for better information about this 

 critical stage of development. Early adoles- 

 cence is the phase that encompasses the bio- 

 logical changes of puberty; status change in 

 role definition from child to adolescent; and 

 peer influence on attitudes and behavior. 

 Technological advances in endocrinology and 

 social science methodology now make this 

 area ripe for exploitation. There is a need to 

 do careful simultaneous studies of the endo- 

 crine and bodily changes of puberty, along 

 with concomitant emotional and behavioral 

 changes. The need for such research is point- 

 ed up by the almost absolute lack of reliable 

 information on early adolescent develop- 

 ment. Ages 10-15 are not even included as a 

 separate category in the U.S. vital statistics 

 data; this gap in reported data also contri- 

 butes significantly to the absence of an epide- 

 miology of mental illness in the early adoles- 

 cent phase. 



HEALTH. EDUCATION AND WELFARE 93 



