PREFACE xviiPreface
The initial idea for this book emerged as the Office of NIH History
was organizing a symposium on the research conducted in the 1950s
by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National
Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness (NINDB, today the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) during the first
decade of their existence. The goal of the symposium was to capture as
many first-person accounts of the 1950s as possible from scientists
from both institutes and to have these individuals document, first, their
personal recollections of the broad scientific ideas and debates of the
time; second, the organizational structures at the NIH that supported
or hindered research; and third, the factors that caused lines of research
to move from one direction to another.
Although the book was originally conceived as a volume of pro
ceedings, the organizers soon realized that the twelve symposium speak
ers’ chapters would benefit from being placed in a broader context. The
historical literature on the intramural programs of the NIMH and the
NINDB is very limited. What was needed was a detailed description
documenting the history of the institutes and situating for readers the
individuals, events, and research referred to by the scientists.
This volume will then provide two different but complementary
perspectives, i.e., a historical one and a scientific one. The two will offer
different kinds of analysis; each approach asking different questions,
employing different methods, and relying on different sources of evi
dence. The historical portion attempts to portray the institutional con
text in which the scientific research was conducted. The chapters by
individual scientists offer their perspectives on the research in which
they participated at these two institutes during the 1950s.