Science

There was a strong desire within psychopharmacology to find a firm scientific basis for the field, hoping to ensure that it was regarded as a science. This chapter explains how the pseudo-scientific proposition on drug efficacy has become the notion that patients are suffering from “chemical imbalances.” It also emphasizes the industry’s leaping on chemical imbalance from the very beginning, because it sounded so plausible and so scientific that patients could easily grasp it. The chapter refers to a 1976 ad for USV’s tricyclic antidepressant Pertofrane that promised higher norepinephrine levels through reuptake blockade. It explains how depressions are associated with an absolute or relative deficiency of catecholamines, particularly norepinephrine.

Vestibular Migraine: Treatment and Prognosis

Treatment of vestibular migraine currently lacks a firm scientific basis, as high quality randomized controlled trials are not available. Therefore, recommendations are largely borrowed from the migraine sphere. The first therapeutic step is explanation and reassurance. Many patients do not need pharmacological treatment, as attacks may be infrequent and tolerable. Acute attacks can be ameliorated in some patients with antiemetic drugs such as diphenhydramine, meclizine, and metoclopramide. Frequent attacks may warrant pharmacological prophylaxis with metoprolol, amitriptyline, topiramate, valproic acid, or flunarizine. Nonpharmacological measures including regular exercise, relaxation techniques, stress management, and biofeedback may be similarly effective and can be combined with a pharmacological approach. Limited data indicate that the prognosis appears to be less favorable for vestibular migraine than for migraine headaches.

Coping Style and Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenic Patients

It is important to know how people with a schizophrenic disorder experience their cognitive vulnerability and how that experience affects their daily lives. Rehabilitation, as we understand it, has the aim of stimulating patients to make the best use of their residual capacities, especially in dealing with social complexity. Unfortunately, the rehabilitation approach in psychiatry still lacks a firm scientific basis. Strong links need to be developed between the practice of rehabilitation and theories of basic cognitive and behavioural dysfunction in schizophrenic patients (Watts & Bennett, 1983). It is a prerequisite that the subjective experiences of patients are included in this endeavour: schizophrenia is an ‘I am’ illness (Estroff, 1989).

The scientific basis of practical conservation: factors limiting the persistence of populations and communities of animals and plants

There are three main objectives to the management of habitats for conservation: (1) the modification of successional changes in vegetation and its associated fauna; (2) the increase of the biotic diversity, or richness of a habitat; and (3) the conservation of rare or endangered species. The success of each of these rests largely upon the identification and manipulation of those environmental factors currently limiting the populations and communities which are wanted. Examples will be given of research in progress showing how this can aid each of these conservation objectives. One cannot alter a habitat to encourage one species, or group of species, without this having repercussions on other parts of the flora and fauna. For this reason, there must be a clear understanding of the objectives to be achieved and research into the best way of achieving them, before conservation can be put on a firm scientific basis.