Journal of the American Medical Association · 1929 · 50 citations · 0 references
MedicineNeurologyPharmacologyClinical NeuroscienceDementiaNeurophysiologyNeurostimulationRespiratory MedicineOxygen Fixation HypothesisPharmacological Treatment Of Dementia
This is a preliminary report made at this time in order to place in the hands of those interested a method of approach in otherwise inaccessible mental states. In 1916, Loevenhart, Lorenz, Martin and Malone<sup>1</sup>sought to make clinical application of previous work done in the pharmacologic laboratory<sup>2</sup>on the relation between oxygen fixation by the respiratory center and its functional activity. It was demonstrated<sup>1</sup>that sodium cyanide on intravenous injection, in proper dosage, stimulates the respiratory center in man. While working with respiratory stimulation there was observed in one case of dementia praecox a transient change in the mental state. This patient had been mute for several months. Following a period of respiratory stimulation induced by sodium cyanide, the patient made a few coherent and relevant responses to simple questions. This mental reaction was an incidental observation and, while interesting at the time, was not investigated