EDITORIAL. Transduction and Biological Psychiatry. The term "biological
psychiatry" is used most commonly to refer to the biochemical and
pharmacological ...
EDITORIAL
Transduction and Biological Psychiatry The term "biological psychiatry" is used most commonly to refer to the biochemical and pharmacological aspects of schizophrenia and affective disorders. Papers in this and previous issues of the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience reflect major developments taking place in this field. The role of stress and psychopathology in causing nonpsychiatric diseases may appear on the surface to be peripheral to biological psychiatry. Yet this is an area which is assuming greater importance as our grasp of psychophysiological relationships improves. There is no question that the brain plays a key role in the mediation of these effects. Evidence from both epidemiological and psychophysiological sources together supports an association between stress and disease. For example, one study found that widowers have a substantially higher morbidity and mortality rate during the 12 months after the death of their spouse than a demographically controlled group of subjects who had not lost their spouse (Parkes et al 1969). There is persuasive evidence that stress increases the risk of mortality among patients with cardiovascular disease (Ruberman and Weinblatt 1984; Silverstein 1990) and that psychiatric pathology has a deleterious effect on the course of such chronic relapsing diseases as ulcerative colitis and bronchial asthma (Levenstein and Prantera 1992; Knapp et al 1976). There is recent evidence of the effect of stress and psychosocial stimuli on the body's immunological mechanisms (Danziger and Kelley 1989; Daruna and Morgan 1990). The central nervous system likely plays a crucial role in the mediation ofthese effects. The process by which environmental signals are converted into physiological responses was termed "transduction" by Weiner (1972; 1982). In his comprehensive review, Weiner (1982) provides many examples and emphasizes the role of hormones, polypeptides and neurotransmitters in these processes. Brain biochemical research is restricted by the practical difficulties of identifying subtle changes in cerebral physiology and evaluating their significance. Research on animals is of inestimable value, and the development of non-invasive metabolic techniques, such as SPECT and PET scanning, will likely expand our horizons in this field. It is hoped that researchers in this sector of biological psychiatry will respond to the challenges of research in what
has been described as a very complex field (Steptoe 1991). Identifying the physiological and biochemical factors which precede and determine pathological changes would not only provide a link between environmental stimuli and disease, but may lead to the development of practical methods of preventing and treating these conditions.
REFERENCES
Danziger R, Kelly K (1989) Stress and immunity: an integrated view of the relationship between the brain and the immune system. Life Sci 44:1995-2008. Daruna J, Morgan J (1990) Psychosocial effects on immune function. Psychosomatics 31:4-12. Knapp P, Mathd A, Vachon L (1976) Psychosomatic aspects ofbronchial asthma. In: Bronchial Asthma: Its Nature and Management. Weiss E, Segal M (eds). Boston, MA: Little Brown. Levenstein S, Prantera C (1992) Personality and stress vulnerability in ulcerative colitis (abstract). American Psychosomatic Society Annual Meeting, New York, NY, p58. Parkes CM, Benjamin B, Fitzgerald R (1969) Broken heart: a statistical study of increased mortality amongst widowers. Br Med J 1:740-743. Ruberman W, Weinblatt E (1984) Psychosocial influences on- mortality after myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med 311:552-559. Silverstein P (1990) Depression increases mortality and morbidity in acute life threatening medical illness. J Psychosom Res 34:651-657. Steptoe A (1991) The links between stress and illness. J Psychosom Res 35:633-644. Weiner H (1972) Some comments on the transduction of expenence by the brain: implications for our understanding of the relationship of mind to body. Psychosom Med 34:355-380. Weiner H (1982) The prospects for psychosomatic medicine: selected topics. Psychosom Med 44:491-5 17.
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