There is increasing evidence that the autonomic nervous system and the endocrine system function abnormally in several psychiatric disorders. This abnormal function may, or may not, be of causal importance in these diseases; nevertheless, its definition will contribute to an understanding of these diseases. Abnormalities of adrenocortical function in schizophrenia have been suggested by the studies of Hoagland and his colleagues1,2 and by those of others.3-5 Some studies6,7 have, however, not supported this suggestion.
In 1953 we also observed that in a group of schizophrenics the eosinophil responses to the standard corticotropin and epinephrine tests8 were often less than normal. Particularly noticeable was a lower resting level of circulating eosinophils in the catatonic than in the paranoid schizophrenics. The fall in eosinophils following corticotropin was, however, greater in the former than in the latter. The eosinophil response to corticotropin is considered an approximate index of adrenocortical