The social functions of humor on an open psychiatric ward

Conclusion The functions served by humor on the psychiatric ward are not unlike those served by this activity in other social situations such as that of the bi-racial interaction.It is apparent that humor does contribute to the ends of group and individual integration and adaptation. Group integration is facilitated by such mechanisms as the use of humor as negative sanction for violation of group norms, as the common expression of sentiment, as expressions of support or comradeship, and in the initiation of new members to the group. Group adaptation to the wider environment is fostered insofar as the hostility felt is expressed through humor rather than in a more disruptive manner, and the use of humor reflects staff values.An individual's gratifications stem from such factors as the expressions of support that he receives and the collective expression of areas of concern. His adaptation to patient groups is facilitated by rites of acceptance and the mild ridicule of his personal foibles.Less consideration has been given in this communication and other studies to the possibly dysfunctional consequences of humor as a pattern of social behavior such as fostering a pathological denial of reality, obfuscating relevant material, and too greatly reducing the anxiety that accompanies the consideration of mental illness.The consideration of the functions (and dysfunctions) of humor might have practical implications for the therapist and administrator insofar as the observation of humorous occurrences sensitizes them to the areas of concern and structural predispositions toward strain of which the humor is a symptom. Similarly a consideration of the beneficent functions of humor and the judicious use of this technique, might facilitate therapeutic progress.This study was supported by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health and the Veterans Administration Hospital, Houston, Texas.     

STUDIES ON HERPETIC INFECTION IN MICE : I. PASSIVE PROTECTION AGAINST VIRUS INOCULATED INTRANASALLY

Passive immunity, naturally acquired from immune mothers or artificially induced through the administration of immune rabbit serum, conferred on suckling mice of the albino Swiss strain a high degree of resistance against herpetic infection following the intranasal instillation of the virus. Antibodies, which could be readily demonstrated in the blood of 2-week-old mice, were received by the offspring of immune mothers primarily by the mammary route. Naturally acquired immunity declined rapidly when suckling was interrupted. Herpes virus was not recovered from the fetuses of either immune or infected, non-immune mothers.     

Cardiac complications in acute glomerulonephritis

Cardiac complications are fairly frequent in cases of acute glomerulo-nephritis, and patients who die during the acute phase may die from heart failure. Evidence of obvious cardiac involvement was observed in 16 per cent of 136 cases. The cardiac complications varied from murmurs, with or without dilatation, to manifestations of pulmonary congestion or severe cardiac decompensation. In cases in which congestive heart failure is a complicating factor, the patient may die suddenly or may improve rapidly, leaving no demonstrable evidence of organic heart disease. The hearts of patients who die from cardiac decompensation ofen show great dilatation, with or without hypertrophy, but dilatation usually dominates the picture. Signs of cardiac involvement may appear and disappear rapidly, and there is no apparent correlation between the severity of the nephritis, the height of the blood pressure, and the incidence or severity of the cardiac complications.     

AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF GYE'S CANCER THEORY

It is obviously impossible to draw definite conclusions as to the significance of the differences between our work and Gye''s, and still less, of the differences between Gye''s work and that of Murphy and of Flu. We can only say that in a fairly large series of experiments, extending over a period of 12 months, we have had absolutely no indication of the necessity of two factors in the production of the Rous sarcoma. In other words, we have been unable to duplicate either the results of Gye or the modified confirmations of his work by Murphy and Flu. We have shown that uncontrollable local and individual variations may produce results in occasional chicks which simulate satisfactory experiments, but when viewed as a whole, mean nothing. Because of the conflicting nature of results obtained by those who have undertaken to repeat the work, and on account of the difficulty of controlling all factors involved, we do not feel that it may be stated definitely that Gye''s theory of the cause of cancer is wrong. On the other hand the theory apparently needs more evidence in its support if it is to receive further serious consideration. It is suggested, in order to untangle the subjéct as rapidly as possible, that future publications should include sufficient consecutive protocols to make the trend of the experiments obvious to the reader.