THE TREATMENT OF ALCOHOLISM BY ESTABLISHING A CONDITIONED REFLEX.

BY WALTER L. VOEGTLIN, M.S., M.D.,

MEDICAL DIRECTOR, SHADEL SANITARIUM,

SEATTLE, WASH.

The utilization of the principle of the conditioned reflex in the treatment of alcoholism was first suggested by Markovnikov4 and by Ichok,3 in 1934. The former author cited some experimental results, but Ichok presented only a philosophic discussion of the subject.

A conditioned reflex may be defined as the eliciting of a normal or unconditioned reflex response by means of a strange or unnatural stimulus. Thus if salivation in an experimental animal is made to result solely from the stimulus of a ringing bell, a conditioned reflex has been established. These reflexes are called conditioned reflexes because they require a period of training or conditioning before they may become manifest. The fundamental concept of the conditioned reflex and the importance of its several peculiar characteristics has been studied most exhaustively by Pavlov.5