RF Annual Report - 1935 - The Rockefeller Foundation

THE NATURAL SCIENCES
The behavior of a living organism presents
some features which appear to belong largely to
the broad realm of psychology, and .other features
that appear to belong largely to the broad
realm of physiology. The growth of knowledge,
however, continuously emphasizes the interdependence
of these two aspects; and the constant
interplay, if not the actual identity, of the
psychical and somatic aspects of behavior becomes
every day more evident.
To substantiate this statement would be to
rehearse a large part of the progress of biology
during the last quarter-century; and one or two
striking but characteristic instances are perhaps
all one need mention. About twenty years ago
Professor W. B. Cannon of Harvard developed
his now famous "emergency theory" to explain
the interaction which occurs between the sympathetic
nervous system and the adrenal glands
when the subject (a cat in Dr, Cannon's experiments)
is caused to experience pain, fear, or
anger (by, for example, the presence of a barking
dog). Under the influence of this emotional experience,
and to meet this "emergency," a chemical
substance called epinephrine is secreted by
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