404 ALBERT S. MORACZEWSKI 



the etiology of schizophrenia.*'"' It has been suggested that a 

 metaboHc disorder which alters the concentration of serotonin 

 in the brain would result in a psychosis.^" Notwithstanding the 

 amount of evidence to show that serotonin as well as several 

 other compounds (e. g., norepinephrine, acetylcholine, gamma 

 aminobutyric acid) have important roles in the proper func- 

 tioning of the brain, no definite conclusion can yet be drawn 

 with regard to their causality in mental illness. Another sub- 

 stance which has been suggested as a causative agent in schizo- 

 phrenia is taraxein.^^ This compound, isolated from the blood 

 of schizophrenic patients, has been known to produce bizarre 

 behavior in animals and in volunteer human subjects." The 

 chemical nature of taraxein has not yet been determined pre- 

 cisely. Unfortunately, not all the evidence supports the view 

 that taraxein is a psychotoxic substance produced by schizo- 

 phrenic patients. ^^ Consequently, no single substance has yet 

 been found which conclusively induces this particular mental 

 condition. 



■3t * * 



There remains the task of correlating relevant material 

 already discussed with certain observations. First, too little is 

 known at present for an adequate biochemical specification of 

 the exact nature of mental health; it is not even possible to 

 associate a particular disease with a specific biochemical change 

 or with a pattern of changes (with the possible exception of 



*' Kety, op. cit., pp. 1592-3. 



^"D. W. Wooley and E. Shaw, Science, CXIX (1954), 587; J. H. Gaddum, 

 " Drugs Antagonistic to 5-Hydroxytryptamine," in CIBA Foundation Symposium 

 on Hypertension (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1954) , pp. 75-77. 



" R. G. Heath, S. Marten, B. E. Leach, M. Cohen and C. Angels, " Effect on 

 Behavior in Humans with the Administration of Taraxein," American Journal oj 

 Psychiatry, CXIV (1957) , 14-24. 



'^^ R. G. Heath, S. Marten, B. E. Leach, M. Cohen and C. A. Feigley, " Behavioral 

 Changes in Nonpsychotic Volunteers Following the Administration of Taraxein, The 

 Substance Obtained from Serum of Schizophrenic Patients," American Journal oj 

 Psychiatry, CXIV (1958) , 917-20; R. G. Heath, B. E. Leach and M. Cohen, "Mode 

 of Action of Taraxein: Follow up Studies," in Gibbs, op. cit., pp. 17-43. 



"Kety, op. cit., pp. 1590-91. 



