Mind, Brain, Body, and Behavior

HISTORICAL FOREWORD xv

specialties began to grow apart. Psychiatry emphasized psychodynamic
and psychoanalytic approaches; neurologists were preoccupied with so­
matic concerns. Nevertheless, the individuals associated with the intra­
mural programs of the NIMH and the NINDB were rarely in conflict,
and many worked on common problems.
This volume provides insights not only into their work, but the
relationship between institutional and governmental structures and the
manner in which they influenced the direction taken by individual
scientists. Neither biomedical nor social science research, after all, occurs
in a vacuum. The nature of the questions asked and the subjects that are
selected to be investigated often reflect broader scientific, intellectual,
and political currents. The recollections of the individuals in the intramural
program juxtaposed alongside whatever primary sources have survived
also provide an equally fascinating contrast. To what extent are individ­
ual researchers aware that the choices they make are related to broader
social and environmental factors? And what is the relationship between
history and memory?
Can the study of history provide us with a narrative that offers
policy guidance? The answer to this ostensibly simple question is extra­
ordinarily complex. History, to be sure, does not offer concrete lessons.
Nevertheless, it suggests broad themes that are useful to keep in mind
when considering policy decisions. In addition, it helps to develop an
awareness of the complexities and ambiguities inherent in all scientific
research. This volume can serve not only as an important stimulus to fur­
ther research dealing with the evolution of the NIH intramural programs,
but also provides a perspective that can illuminate contemporary policy
debates about the nature and direction of biomedical and social science
research as well as the relationships between government and science.

Gerald N. Grob, Ph.D.
Henry E. Sigerist Professor of the History of Medicine Emeritus
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ