Problems of “Perception” and “Communication” in Mental Illness

The establishment of the Albert D. Lasker Memorial Lectureship at the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Training and Research of the Michael Reese Hospital signifies the coming of age of the multidisciplinary approach to research in psychiatry. It thus also signifies the sound development of a scientific—or operational—approach to the problems of human relationships and their chemical and functional-anatomical substrata. This Lectureship is thus a fitting tribute to a man whose insight and freedom from conventional pressures prompted him to support, and thus make possible, the Institute and its pioneering program. For those of us who were introduced to psychiatry some 40 years ago the advances made in the past 10 to 15 years are both breath-taking and thrilling. In view of the basic contributions to these recent developments by the research program of the Institute, I not only deeply appreciate the honor of