RECENT ADVANCES IN NEUROLOGY SIGNIFICANT TO PSYCHIATRY

Rapid strides have been made in the advancement of our knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, pathology and biochemistry of the nervous system. These advances have led directly or indirectly to the eradication of some diseases of the nervous system and to a more effective therapy of many others. Significant as these advances are, they are not adequate enough for us to be complacent. There are many facts that are unknown: the physiological nature of sleep; the pathophysiology of the minor and major physical disturbances; the nature of metabolic defect in the lipoidoses and progressive muscular dystrophy; and the toxic or metabolic origin of diseases such as paralysis agitans, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.