Brain function and behavior. I. Emotion and sensory phenomena in psychotic patients and in experimental animals

For the past 25 years, the research program of the Tulane University Department of Psychiatry and Neurology has been directed primarily to the development of treatment for patients with certain psychiatric and neurological disorders that have been resistant to commonly used therapy. In the course of investigations, using a variety of approaches, new techniques have evolved which have permitted simultaneous exploration of brain activity and behavior. The data reported substantiate an anatomical localization in the brain for the syndrome of psychotic behavior. Further, observations in patients, coupled with animal investigations, have led to the demonstration of brain pathways and previously undisclosed anatomical connections which provide a physical substrate for the clinically observed relation between perception and emotionality. These findings provide a basis for the development of specific biological methods for the treatment of behavioral disorders.