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A survey of the literature on the psychosis of general paresis showed that even early observers felt that previous personality development played an important rôle in the make-up of this organic psychosis; that psychoanalytic literature stated that the content of delusions can be understood by means of psychoanalytic knowledge; that there is difference of opinion on the question as to whether the dementia or the regression is the essence of this psychosis; that it was rather generally agreed upon that luetic damage equals castration; that the conditions of reversibility of the psychosis are unclarified, as is the extent to which the dementia is psychogenic-marginal or organic-axial. The discussion of malarial treatment indicated that beyond the specific effect of this treatment there is probably another effect, comparable with that of febrile states in general, precipitating onset or remission of psychosis. The discussion of the effect of sodium amytal indicated that a paretic psychotic reacted to this drug in a fashion similar to that of functional psychotics.
The experimental use of metrazol in a group of sixteen paretics is reported. The results appear to confirm the inference from the effect of sodium amytal that in at least some cases of paresis the psychosis can be reversed to varying degree by the same measures used in the treatment of the functional psychoses. The use of drugs and psychological tests is suggested as a method for psychosomatic research.