thanks to Dr. Paul D. MacLean and Dr. Neil Greenberg and other mem- 
bers of the organizing committee, as well as to all participants for shar- 
ing with us their knowledge and ideas. 
Theodore H. Reed, D.V.M. 
Director, National Zoological Park 
Smithsonian Institution 
These proceedings of an interdisciplinary colloquium dealing with rep- 
tiles reflect major advances in the utilization of the comparative method 
and ethological approach that promise to be important in research on 
neurobehavioral problems long puzzling and troubling to researchers. 
Many reptile species are highly suitable for research. Many occur in 
easily studied natural populations, and in the laboratory they are a clean, 
convenient species. Neurologically and behaviorally they are of interest 
as descendants of the group ancestral to birds and mammals. Like birds 
and mammals, they have responded to the challenges of a changing world 
by adapting and evolving in their own way, yet using the same basic 
neurological raw material. 
Behaviorally, reptiles demonstrate most of the same basic patterns as 
so-called higher animals. That these behavioral patterns can be elicited 
in the lab is a testament to the value of the ethological method, with its 
appreciation for the ecological and evolutionary constraints on organisms. 
The conference on which this volume is based was a pleasure in several 
ways. It grew out of a realization of the importance of interdisciplinary 
dialog and was markedly successful in that regard. But it also represents 
a collaboration with our friends and colleagues at the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution. Dr. Neil Greenberg, NIMH research ethologist, and Dr. Paul D. 
MacLean, Chief, NIMH Laboratory of Brain Evolution and Behavior, 
along with Dr. Dale Marcellini, Research Curator at the National Zoo- 
logical Park, and Dr. Chris Wimmer of the NZP Front Royal Research 
facility, identified the needed expertise and organized and hosted the 3- 
day meeting. 
One of the mandates of the National Mental Health Act that authorized 
the establishment of NIMH more than 30 years ago was to conduct 
research in the area of mental health. Part of the excitement and enthu- 
siasm during the days of the Conference and the preparation of this 
volume was due to the realization that a new group of organisms of 
great research potential had been brought into the fold. Scientists free 
of prejudice and impatience are now armed with a potent new weapon 
in their war on ignorance. 
Bertram S. Brown, M.D. 
Director 
National Institute of Mental Health 
VI 
