Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

Principles ofAutonomic-Somatic Integrations. By Ernst Gellhorn. Minneapolis: University ofMinnesota Press, 1967. Pp. xiii-l-318. $10.00. The special attraction of this book, which it shares with former monographs by the author, lies in the presentation ofproblems comprising various fields ofcentral control of innervation and behavior. Moreover, it is based on a considerable personal experimental experience. In this monograph, the author wishes to clarify the close coupling of ergotropic and trophotropic reactions with the system of behavior. Every ergotropic event leads simultaneouslyto an increase in muscular and sympathetic tone and to a desynchronization ofthe electroencephalogram. Trophotropic reactions, however, lead to a decrease in tone and to a synchronization ofthe electroencephalogram. Both reactions, ergotropic as well as trophotropic, can be attributed to special areas in the brain. It seems to be of peculiarinterest that no conditioning ofreflexes is possible outside an ergotropic basic reactivity . In summary, it can be said that the book integrates to a great extent numerous details ofthe brain's electrophysiology with the various states ofbehavior. Monographs of this kind have become rare in the lastfew years. This is one ofthe very successful attempts at an integrative action in a rapidly disintegrating world. Hans Schaefer Physiolog Institut University ofHeidelberg You AreExtraordinary. ByRogerJ. Williams. New York: Random House, 1967. Pp. 252. $5-95This book should be read by all intelligent laymen, by scientists who are inclined to generalize about members ofa class or group, and especially by politicians. The account of biological individuality is clear and simple. The reader need not agree with the author 's personal philosophy, as the author makes clear, and the scientist need not agree with all of the data or methods to gain an appreciation ofthe fact that every individual is unique. The author could be criticized for seeming to imply that he invented the concept ofindividuality, but this really does not detract from the gist of the book. It should be available to all students in elementary schools, secondary schools, and colleges as an aid to the teaching of citizenship. DwightJ. Ingle University ofChicago 338 1 Book Reviews Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Winter 196$ ...