SEXUAL PSYCHOSES AND NEUROSES 227 



Religious manias may lead to ideas which fill the The influence 



..,,,, , . . , . of the mind 



patient with abhorrence of sexual intercourse, and in O n the 

 this way directly interfere with the genital functions. ^ r c t f u n c a tive 



There is, indeed, no doubt whatsoever that the mind 

 influences function just as function influences the mind ; 

 for example, it has been shown that fright leads to an 

 immediate increase in the output of suprarenin 1 , and 

 we know well from repeated clinical observations that 

 hypothyroidism leads to mental depression. 



The whole question of the influence of the mind on 

 the reproductive functions is in its details intricate and 

 difficult, and it would be out of place in this small work 

 to invade further the realms of psychiatry. 



1 Cannon, W. B., and de la Paz, D., Amer. Journ. Physiol., 1911, 

 vol. xxviii, p. 64 ; Journ. Amcr. Med. Assoc., 1911, vol. Ivi, p. 742. 



