ABOLITION OF BULBOCAPNINE CATATONIA BY COCAINE

Abstract

The discovery that a catatonic condition closely resembling that seen in man can be produced consistently in animals by the injection of bulbocapnine has made possible an experimental study of this interesting phenomenon. From the clinical point of view, the chief objective, of course, has been to determine by what means the catatonia can be reduced or eliminated, with the hope that information obtained from animals may be of therapeutic significance for man. Study of the effects produced by various agents on bulbocapnine catalepsy has been facilitated recently by the development of a method by which this condition can be measured in adult monkeys (Richter and Paterson¹). These animals under the influence of bulbocapnine will grasp a horizontal bar and hang freely by one hand for varying lengths of time. Normally, they cannot be made to hang at all. If the grasping response is tested at frequent intervals after