Research Methods in Psychiatry: A beginner's guide Chris Freeman and Peter tyrer (eds) The Royal College of Psychiatrists, London 1989, 240 pages Not every doctor will become a dedicated researcher but an understanding of research principles and methods is essential for effective critical enquiry or performance review and thus for improved patient care. Like their psychiatrist colleagues, general practitioner trainees increasingly accept the link between individual research and better clinical practice. Chris Freeman and ... Read More

Trevor J Powell and Simon J Enright Routledge, Chapman and Hall, London 1989, 196 pages This useful book is the first in a series on strategies for mental health. Forthcoming titles will include Assertiveness training, Bereavement and loss and Rehabilitation and community care. If these volumes are of the same high standard as this book then they may, as the series title implies, have a positive effect on mental health. The contents of this ... Read More

Observations obtained from carefully studied individual cases and from mass experiments would indicate that the tranquilizing drugs act by suppressing the patient's symptomatology. They suppress certain clinical manifestations in the patient in the same way as an anti-epileptic drug suppresses epileptic discharges. From a clinical point of view this is a real accomplishment. However, we have at present no indication that any of these compounds will touch upon the substructure ... Read More

Noradrenergic innervation of the urinary tract via sympathetic neurons leaving the spinal cord regulates bladder emptying via alpha 1 receptors. ... Read More

This brings up one of the most important issues on which no general agreement has been reached. A certain number of patients receiving the drugs function adequately, lose their symptoms, feel comfortable, and for all practical purposes are able to live a normal life. This may often be within the framework of some limitations, but nevertheless conspicuous mental symptomatology is absent. It has not been established as yet how many ... Read More

Noradrenergic innervation of the heart via sympathic neurons leaving the spinal cord regulates cardiovascular function, including heart rate, via beta 1 receptors. ... Read More

We feel the following trends in the use of the tranquilizing drugs should be checked. First, patients should not receive a tranquilizing drug without proper physical and mental examination. We know that some of the drugs can lead to physical complications and therefore the physical status of the patient at the beginning of medication is of importance. Complications are known to develop with chlorpromazine and reserpine. We have less knowledge ... Read More

Brainstem norepinephrine in cardiovascular centers controls blood pressure. ... Read More

We would also like to emphasize that it is much more difficult to establish the maintenance dose of the patient than the primary therapeutic dose. We all use maintenance dosages and for the patient who has been on the drug for a few weeks or a few months the dosage is usually reduced to a level at which we believe he will be able to function properly. To determine the ... Read More

The noradrenergic projection from the locus coeruleus to the cerebellum may mediate motor movements, especially tremor. ... Read More