THE ROLE OF THE BRAIN IN VISCERAL DISEASE

　I bring you greetings from the United　States and from Los Angeles, where I have　had the pleasure of receiving many of you　as visitors in the past．　I hope that many　more of you will visit us in the future．

　I am reserved about bringing to you these　observations made over the past decade because　this field has been pursued so effectively by　many Japanese workers and is well known　to most of you．　Indeed, some of you attend—ing this meeting have joined with us in making　these studies and much of the information　that I bring today will not be new．　In general，　it will be my purpose to attempt a synthesis　of some of the information which has accumu—lated in our laboratories concerning the in—fluence of the brain, particularly the brain　stem, on bodily functions which, when disor—dered, lead to problems we face in the clinic．　These disease entities we call psychosomatic　diseases, not an entirely satisfactory term I　think；　nevertheless, it does indicate the rela—tionship between brain mechanisms and clini—cal problems．