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Advances in behavioural medicine, vol. 1
522
Book Reviews
Advances in Behavioural Medicine, Vol. 1. Edited by E. S. KATKIN and S. B. MAr-;UCK. ,I.A.I. Press, Greenwich, 1985. Price: $47.50 (institutions); $22.25 (individuals). BEHAVIOURALMedicine is an interdisciplinary field of study of the relationship between, and integration of, behavioural and biomedical knowledge. As such it overlaps considerably with psychosomatic research, and it would be arbitrary and futile to specify a demarcation line. However it would appear that behavioural medicine is less concerned with psychodynamic approaches, and leans more firmly towards experimental research. These trends are certainly evident in this volume. It contains seven chapters, plus a short summary introduction. The chapters cover the topics of 'Dieting as a Problem in Behavioural Medicine', 'Psychophysiological Correlates of Type A Behaviour', 'Renal and Cardiovascular Effects of Psychological Stress and Sodium Intake', 'Animal Models of Behavioural Influences on Atherogenesis', 'Perception of General vs Specific Visceral Activity and the Regulation of Health-Related Behaviour', 'Pain Psychophysics' and 'Neurochemical Basis of Behavioural Depression'. The authors are renowned experts in their fields, including Janet Polivy, Paul Obrist and Jay Weiss, not to mention the editors. All the chapters are scholarly, up-to-date, and provide excellent reviews of the field. My only reservations are that all the authors are from North America; that occasionally authors' reviews are unduly biased towards their own, perhaps idiosyncratic, view of the topic; and that apart from a few graphs and tables, the text is dense and unbroken, reducing readability. But these are minor carps about an otherwise outstanding book. It is intended that this will be the first of a series; if subsequent volumes are of the same high standard, they will prove invaluable to researchers and clinicians alike; and provide a further stimulus to a rapidly expanding field of study. DAVID F. PECK Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh
Impact of Psychoendocrine Systems in Cancer and Immunity. Edited by B. M. Fox and B. H. NEWBERRY. C. J. Hogrefe, Lewiston, New York, 1984, Price not known. THIS BOOKaims to present some new data, and to review existing work, concerning psychological factors in relation to immunity and cancer. Several authors have accepted the invitation to be speculative. The book is directed at researchers and practitioners in the fields of psychoendocrinology and psychoimmunology. Such a readership covers a wide spectrum of people with a variety of backgrounds. It is hard therefore for the authors to decide at what level to pitch the book. Some chapters, such as that by Burish and Carey on 'Conditioned Responses to Cancer Chemotherapy', start from basic principles and then relate these principles to the subject under discussion, These chapters can therefore be read easily by people unfamiliar with the area. Other chapters assume prior knowledge of the subject. The chapter by Burish and Carey would be of relevance to any medical and nursing staff working in an oncology setting, particularly those unfamiliar with the psychological principles of classical conditioning. The latter part of the chapter would be of great assistance to clinical psychologists planning the treatment of patients suffering from anticipatory nausea and vomiting. The contributions by Newberry, Liebert and Boyle, on variables in behavioral ontology, discuss the enormous range of environmental and host variables that must be considered when interpreting the associations between psychosocial variables and cancer, and stress the difficulty of coming to firm conclusions. The multifactorial aspects of cancer aetiology and treatment need to be stressed, particularly in view of the recent public interest in a small set of patient variables (such as positive attitudes and beliefs in treatment) believed by some patients and health professionals, to affect response to cancer treatment. The result is that some patients now feel guilty if they do not show a positive response to treatment. The multifactorial model also provides a useful framework which can be used when planning future research in this area. Lloyd provides a wide-ranging overview of the mechanisms thought to link psychological processes and immune function. The subject matter is complex and would benefit from being expressed more simply. The remaining chapters consider such areas as: hypothalamic and peripheral metabolic processes as they relate to neoplastic disease and immune function; and the effects of corticosteroids on humoral immune function. They assume knowledge of endocrinology and immunology, and are probably of more interest to researchers in these fields, than to practitioners in the clinical setting. Overall the book provides a wide coverage of issues related to psychoendocrine systems and cancer immunity. It will be a useful contribution to both practitioners and researchers working in this field; in particular it will alert new researchers to the complexity of the area. A. J. t~UNKLER Bangour Village Hospital, Broxburn
Book Reviews
Advances in Behavioural Medicine, Vol. 1. Edited by E. S. KATKIN and S. B. MAr-;UCK. ,I.A.I. Press, Greenwich, 1985. Price: $47.50 (institutions); $22.25 (individuals). BEHAVIOURALMedicine is an interdisciplinary field of study of the relationship between, and integration of, behavioural and biomedical knowledge. As such it overlaps considerably with psychosomatic research, and it would be arbitrary and futile to specify a demarcation line. However it would appear that behavioural medicine is less concerned with psychodynamic approaches, and leans more firmly towards experimental research. These trends are certainly evident in this volume. It contains seven chapters, plus a short summary introduction. The chapters cover the topics of 'Dieting as a Problem in Behavioural Medicine', 'Psychophysiological Correlates of Type A Behaviour', 'Renal and Cardiovascular Effects of Psychological Stress and Sodium Intake', 'Animal Models of Behavioural Influences on Atherogenesis', 'Perception of General vs Specific Visceral Activity and the Regulation of Health-Related Behaviour', 'Pain Psychophysics' and 'Neurochemical Basis of Behavioural Depression'. The authors are renowned experts in their fields, including Janet Polivy, Paul Obrist and Jay Weiss, not to mention the editors. All the chapters are scholarly, up-to-date, and provide excellent reviews of the field. My only reservations are that all the authors are from North America; that occasionally authors' reviews are unduly biased towards their own, perhaps idiosyncratic, view of the topic; and that apart from a few graphs and tables, the text is dense and unbroken, reducing readability. But these are minor carps about an otherwise outstanding book. It is intended that this will be the first of a series; if subsequent volumes are of the same high standard, they will prove invaluable to researchers and clinicians alike; and provide a further stimulus to a rapidly expanding field of study. DAVID F. PECK Department of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh
Impact of Psychoendocrine Systems in Cancer and Immunity. Edited by B. M. Fox and B. H. NEWBERRY. C. J. Hogrefe, Lewiston, New York, 1984, Price not known. THIS BOOKaims to present some new data, and to review existing work, concerning psychological factors in relation to immunity and cancer. Several authors have accepted the invitation to be speculative. The book is directed at researchers and practitioners in the fields of psychoendocrinology and psychoimmunology. Such a readership covers a wide spectrum of people with a variety of backgrounds. It is hard therefore for the authors to decide at what level to pitch the book. Some chapters, such as that by Burish and Carey on 'Conditioned Responses to Cancer Chemotherapy', start from basic principles and then relate these principles to the subject under discussion, These chapters can therefore be read easily by people unfamiliar with the area. Other chapters assume prior knowledge of the subject. The chapter by Burish and Carey would be of relevance to any medical and nursing staff working in an oncology setting, particularly those unfamiliar with the psychological principles of classical conditioning. The latter part of the chapter would be of great assistance to clinical psychologists planning the treatment of patients suffering from anticipatory nausea and vomiting. The contributions by Newberry, Liebert and Boyle, on variables in behavioral ontology, discuss the enormous range of environmental and host variables that must be considered when interpreting the associations between psychosocial variables and cancer, and stress the difficulty of coming to firm conclusions. The multifactorial aspects of cancer aetiology and treatment need to be stressed, particularly in view of the recent public interest in a small set of patient variables (such as positive attitudes and beliefs in treatment) believed by some patients and health professionals, to affect response to cancer treatment. The result is that some patients now feel guilty if they do not show a positive response to treatment. The multifactorial model also provides a useful framework which can be used when planning future research in this area. Lloyd provides a wide-ranging overview of the mechanisms thought to link psychological processes and immune function. The subject matter is complex and would benefit from being expressed more simply. The remaining chapters consider such areas as: hypothalamic and peripheral metabolic processes as they relate to neoplastic disease and immune function; and the effects of corticosteroids on humoral immune function. They assume knowledge of endocrinology and immunology, and are probably of more interest to researchers in these fields, than to practitioners in the clinical setting. Overall the book provides a wide coverage of issues related to psychoendocrine systems and cancer immunity. It will be a useful contribution to both practitioners and researchers working in this field; in particular it will alert new researchers to the complexity of the area. A. J. t~UNKLER Bangour Village Hospital, Broxburn