Heredity And Eugenics In Relation To Insanity

Author : Henry Andrews Cotton
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9781330351949
Total Pages : 77 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (519 download)

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Download or read book Some Problems in the Study of Heredity in Mental Diseases written by Henry Andrews Cotton and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Some Problems in the Study of Heredity in Mental Diseases We have been content until quite recently with the loose methods of investigating this important subject, and the fact that insanity occurred in the family in such and such a proportion of our patients was considered enough for our present knowledge. It is usual to see in statistics of insane hospitals a summary of the number of cases in which heredity was a factor, such heredity being merely insanity in the family. We have been aware that certain forms of insanity exhibited more heredity than others. But we have had no accurate knowledge of the nature and type of mental disease in ancestors and immediate families of our patients. We must all plead guilty to our lack of interest in this subject, and we must acknowledge our indebtedness to one outside of our work who has succeeded in arousing our interest and stimulating our endeavors in this field. Prof. Charles B.Davenport, of the Eugenics Section of the American Breeders Association, and in charge of the Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor, has been the one to stimulate our interest in this field. In this office, in which Prof. H.H. Laughlin has been associated with Prof. Davenport, the modern ideas of the study of heredity had its birth. The office has been in existence less than three years, but has already accomplished a great deal, and through this agency many state hospitals, as well as other institutions for the care of epileptics and the feebleminded, have been supplied with competent and well-trained field workers, who are now engaged in vigorously attacking the problem in a score of centers. The workers have been prepared by means of a summer school, which lasts six weeks. During this time systematic instruction is given in collecting data in the field, tabulating such data, and in making heredity charts. The workers are usually chosen from among college graduates, and those having some experience in social service work, preferably women. It is with some pride that we note that New Jersey has been the pioneer in this special line of work. The first systematic study of the question of heredity in the feeble minded was the work of Prof. Johnstone and Dr. Goddard, of the Training School, at Vineland, and Dr. Weeks, of the Epileptic Village, at Skillman, has contributed the first important contribution based upon systematic field work on the question of heredity in this class of patients. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.