BIRREN 171that problems associated with aging involve many scientific disciplines
and many professions. This emerging broad orientation toward the
processes of aging was later reflected in a publication of the Social
Science Research Council:
The study of the biological processes involved in the decline
of functions through tissue aging or disease is not the task of
the social scientist but of the biochemists, the physiologist,
and the medical or psychiatric research worker. However,
the effect of these biological processes of aging on the indi
vidual’s capacities for participation in various activities is
the concern of the student of social adjustment. It is evi
dent that the understanding and correction of problems
of adjustment arising from declining physical and mental
powers call for the application of knowledge of both bio
logical and social science.^2This view reflected a growing organismic perspective about the
biological, environmental, and behavioral factors contributing to aging.
Recognition of the nervous system as the primary regulatory organ of
the body was also emerging, a regulatory role that could influence the
health of an aging organism in many ways. When the Section on Aging
was developed, it had a physiologist, a neuroanatomist, and several
psychologists reflecting a multidisciplinary view of aging. Perspectives
surrounding research on aging were somewhat broader than those of
other problem areas.
The NIMH Climate of Growth in the 1950s
The subjective side of research productivity is often overlooked as the
methods and products of research are focused upon. When I joined the
NIMH, I was impressed with the optimistic climate. The three senior
staff of the NIMH were Robert H. Felix, Joseph Bobbitt, and Seymour
D. Vestermark. In a humorous vein they were known as the Id, the Ego,
and the Super Ego, in that order. Their personal qualities complemented
each other and their effectiveness as a team contributed to the progress
of the institute. The clinical intramural research was the domain of