VA under attack
for brain surgery
By STUART AUERBACH
(C) 1973. The Washington Post
WASHINGTON — "Hie Veterans Administration (VA) has per
formed at least 16 brain operations for behavioral problems, a
procedure that the government’s chief psychiatrist has said shouldn’t
be done because doctors don’t know enough about the brain.
Nevertheless, the VA acknowledged in a series of letters to Sen.
Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairer of the Senate Health Sub
committee, that its doctors have been doing the operation, known as
psychosurgery, since 1961.
Recognizing that it “will have application to only a small number
of patients,” the VA last February restricted the operation to four
hospitals and said that each case requires extensive review and ap
proval from the central office in Washington.
VA administrator Donald Johnson agreed Monday to testify at
a joint hearing June 18 of the Senate Health Subcommittee and the
Veterans Health Subcommittee headed by Sen. Alan Cranston (D
Calif.). Johnson agreed to testify only after the committees threatened
to subpoena him.
Psychosurgery came under heavy attack last year from doctors
who say that it does not correct a patient’s problems but merely dulls
his mind. Others, including Kennedy, have questioned the potential of
psychosurgery for behavior control.
In at least two cases—one in Detroit, the other in Arlington, Va.—
doctors considering performing psychosurgery on mental patients
have been stopped by public pressure.
Kennedy held a hearing on psychosurgery in February as part of
his investigation into the lack of controls over experimental medicine
and surgery. It was this hearing that Dr. Bertram Brown, director
of the National Institute of Mental Health, said: “Until we do more
animal research, we don’t want to move into experimental
psychosurgery.”
Kennedy commented: “The VA and NIMH are part of the same
government. Why isn’t there a single government policy on this?
“Because psychosurgery involves irreversible destruction of
brain tissue, and because it involves the control of human behavior, it
must be approached very cautiously.
“The VA, which is after all a government-run operation, must be
extremely cautious in doing this type of procedure, especially given
their extensive experience with lobotomy,” a brain operation popular
in the 1940s which largely has been abandoned by doctors in recent
years.
In March the VA denied to Kennedy’s staff that any
psychosurgery had been done in VA hospitals. By May, however, the
VA admitted to 20 cases of psychosurgery since 1961, including two
cases this year.
On May 29, in a revised memo made available to Kennedy, VA Dr.
J.H. Smith reduced the number of cases to 16. He said four brain
operations by a surgeon in San Diego had been listed by mistake as
psychosurgery.
The early denials of psychosurgery conflict with a Feb. 7 memo
from VA Deputy Chief Medical Director Dr. Benjamin Well to all VA
hospital directors on “Surgery for abnormal behavior
(psychosurgery)”.
“Experience in VA hospitals to date demonstrates that surgical
techniques for alteration of behavior, or so-called psychosurgery,
have application to only a small group of highly selected patients.”
Wells said that in order for psychosurgery to be performed, a
patient must have something physically wrong with brain cells that
does not respond to traditional medical or psychiatric care, and his
condition must be sufficiently serious that he is of danger to himself or
others.”
Wells said that a group of experienced psychiatrists, neurologists,
psychologists and neurosurgeons not connected with the case should
decide whether psychosurgery is warranted.
| County approves
| Coburg rezoning
The Lane County Board of Commissioners dealt with
several items at their regular Wednesday meeting, including
— Bohemia Inc.’s request for rezoning of land adjacent to
the Coburg site of their bark conversion plant. After facts
disputing some community people’s claim that the land was
•ij: prime agricultural land were discussed, the commissioners
unanimously decided the land could be properly used for the
•£ proposed expansion.
•g — selection of three Eugene architectural firms for services
£: relating to new county facilities. The firm of Unthank Seder
:£ Poticha has been selected for the county’s $11 million Public
•i? Service Building. Wilson & Taylor will provide services for the
ij::' Operations Yard to be situated on a 17-acre site north of
Eugene Sand and Gravel, and the firm of Moreland, Unruh and
:* Smith has been selected for architectural services for an —
5 d it ion to the Florence Courthouse Annex and a Florence area
i£ public works facility.
— a decision to continue supporting and participating in the
6 community Mental Health Center, stipulating that they expect
to see more in the way of results than have been forthcoming in
the past. The Center is supposed to provide specific, short range
: planning and coordination of mental health care for the county.
Photo by Nick Lacy
You won't have this old dog to kick around anymore, nor any others on campus if Lane County Dog
Control has its way. Once again, recalcitrant dog owners whose pets are off lease will be issued
citations at $11 a shot.
Campus crackdown coming
on delinquent dog owners
By KATHLEEN GLANVILLE
Of the Emerald
The Lane County Dog Control Department is
going to crack down on the campus dog problem.
Under the urging of campus security, dog control
officers will begin giving citations to all owners of
dogs running loose.
During the last few weeks some officers have
hesitated to give out citations to new students who
were unaware of the University’s dog policy. Dogs
on campus must be on a leash. They cannot be left
unattended or tied to a tree or fire hydrant.
If the owner is accompanying a dog not on
leash, he will be issued an $11.00 citation. According
to Officer Dan Farley of the Lane County Dog
Control Department, the citation is classified as a
misdemeanor and if it is ignored a bench warrant
would be issued for the offender’s arrest.
Dogs found running loose will be impounded
and taken to the Lane County Humane Society.
“We make all possible efforts to find the owner,
if there is a license on the dog,” said Farley. “If the
owner is not located we have no choice*but to im
pound it.”
The impounding fee is $10 plus a boarding fee of
$2.00 a day after the first day.
“We would rather issue a citation than impound
the dog,” said Farley. “In the past few days
violations have increased somewhat, and we have
been having more calls from the University area.”
The Lane County Dog Control Department and
the Campus Security are urging individuals to keep
their dogs on a leash when in the campus area and
not to tie their animals anywhere on campus.
“Lately one of the complaints made by some of
the officers working on campus is that people have
run from them . . . and they can’t do their job
properly,” said Farley. “That’s their main problem
... people are just grabbing their dogs and running.
“I hate to give anyone a citation who has never
heard of the regulations,” said one campus officer,
“but in the future .. . I’ll just have to go ahead and
cite them.”
‘ Webfoot Express'
Fall rail travel set up
How many years has it been
since more than a handful of
students traveled to college by
train? Probably quite a few.
Why not reserve cars on
Amtrak and bring students from
California to the University of
Oregon campus this fall by train,
they thought. Why not give them
a bit of fun and a chance to make
new friends while they trav_i?
It’s been done. Two car* on the
Amtrak leaving Los Angjles
Sunday, September 16, will be
reserved just for Oregon
students, both new and returning.
U of O faculty members will be
along for the trip to facilitate
arrangements. TTiere will be
entertainment provided, with
ample time to get acquainted.
This may be the first time, says
Lenny Jackson of Student Ser
vices, any university in the
country has run a special train
for students to a campus.
The first contingent of
students, from southern
California, will board the train in
Los Angeles at 10:05 a.m. Sep
tember 16. Tickets will be ready
for them. The Amtrak special
cars will arrive in Oakland at
8:20 p.m. the same day, to pick up
Bay Area students. They will
arrive in Eugene on Monday,
September, 17, at 10:30 a.m.
In Eugene, the students will be
picked up by chartered buses and
taken from the station to the
campus.
New students will arrive in
time for the start of New Student
Week the evening of September
17.
The two cars will ac
commodate 88 students with
luggage up to 150 pounds per
person. Which means students
can bring small equipment, such
as skis or stereos.
Price of the trip will be $45 for
students from Los Angeles and
$30 for students boarding in
Oakland, plus the reasonable cost
of meals on the train. No extra
charge will be made for the bus
from station to campus.
Scenery along the train route —
the coast in southern California,
and the mountains as the train
winds around snow-covered Mt.
Shasta and over the rugged
Siskiyous in Oregon — will be a
part of the experience.
If the cars are filled for the first
trip, a similar Webfoot Express
will be scheduled for September
19 and 20 to bring new students
who have pre-registered during
the U of O’s Early Orientation
Registration, and returning
students who want to reach the
campus for regular registration,
which starts September 20.
The Webfoot Express, if it is
successful, may become an
annual run from California, says
Lenny Jackson.
Students who want to have the
new experience on the Webfoot
Express should mail their
checks, made out to the
University of Oregon, in care of
the Office of Student Services,
Emerald Hall, University of
Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403.
AMTRAK should be written
across the bottom of the checks.
For additional information on
the train trip, write the U of 0
Office of Student Services or
telephone area code 503, 686-3211.