BIOBEHAVIORAL SYSTEMS
1140-23 Savannah Road
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jprescott34@comcast.net
http://www.violence.de
http://montagunocircpetition.org
9 May 2014
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, NIH
National Institutes of Health
9000 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20892
Dear Dr.Colllins,
I have read with some interest your testimony Driving Innovation through Federal Investments before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Barbara Mikulski, Chairwoman.
I was struck by what you did not say and that you avoided any mention of the single greatest public health problem in this country and of the World. You are familiar with the identification of VIOLENCE by C. Everett Koop, M.D., PHS Surgeon General and Deputy Assistant Secretary For Health. In his address before the American Academy of Pediatrics, New York October 26, 1982 On Violence and Public Health, where he stated over 30 years ago that VIOLENCE “Is one of the most extensive and chronic epidemics in the Public Health of this country"; and
It's time to be honest with ourselves about the way we treat children in general in our society… There never was a time when a major social problem was solved by beating a child. And there never will be such a time... For centuries adults have injured children and have lied about it, and other adults have heard those lies and then merely turned away... {2.16.89: Kids Symposium}.
Tragically, the National Institutes of Health and the American Academy of Pediatrics have ignored Dr. Koop’s’ advise and Counsel where Violence has disappeared from the radar scope of public health problems of this nation. This is not new. http://ttfuture.org/blog/1181/another-failed-mother-infant-bond
You are also familiar with the NIH published report: of April 1994 "Report of the Panel on NIH Research on Antisocial, Aggressive, and Violence-Related Behaviors and their Consequences", which stated:
Summary September 22-24, 1993 meeting: 2nd paragraph: "To date, investment across all Institutes and ICDs in violence-related research has been minuscule relative to the total NIH, View Page 138; and
The NIH RESEARCH PORTFOLIO: "With the exception of the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH), violence research has not been a major priority at NIH (25)". View Page 75. http://www.violence.de/history/NIHR_1994.html
The indifference and neglect of Violence research by the NIH and the American Academy of Pediatrics has been compounded by ignoring the extensive research that has documented impaired brain development consequent to loss of maternal-infant /child affectional bonding, which mediate the wide range of emotional-behavioral pathologies associated with mother-infant separation that involves depression and the violence of homicide and suicide.
These behaviors are illustrated in the following two short video clips which I urge you to review that should reshape your focus on issues of pubic health that vitally affect the lives and safely of infants, children, teens and their Mothers.
https://vimeo.com/69200952 -9 Min
https://vimeo.com/71761209 - 2 Min
The history of NICHD support of these research programs can be seen in the award winning Time Life documentary Rock a Bye Baby that was premiered at the 1970 White House Conference on Children.
http://www.violence.de/prescott/dvd/Nixon-1970-WHC.pdf
http://ttfuture.org/bonding/dvd_archive/overview
90% (9/10) States With Less Than 15% of Children Breastfeeding At 12 Months Have Highest Infant Mortality Rates
83% (10/12) States With Greater Than 25% of Children Breastfeeding At 12 Months Have Lowest Infant Mortality Rates
http://ttfuture.org/bonding/blog/breastfeeding-bonding-prevents-infant-mortality-and-suicide
It has been well established that the sensory deprivation of Mother Love results in aberrant brain development in the infrahuman primate where “septal spiking” (electrical storms in the subcortical emotional centers of the brain) and cerebellar abnormalities characterize and mediate the psychotic rage of adult maternally deprived primates that has tragically been ignored by the NIH and biomedical community. https://vimeo.com/71761209 - 2 Min
The non-invasive detection of subcortical septal spiking, an indicator of brain impairment, has yet to be documented in abused and mother-deprived children and in pathologically violent offenders.
http://www.violence.de/saltzberg/1980paper.pdf
Heath, R. G. (l975): Maternal-social deprivation and abnormal brain development: Disorders of emotional and social behavior. In Brain Function and Malnutrition: : Neuropsychological Methods of Assessment (Prescott, J.W., Read, M.S., & Coursin, D.B., Eds). John Wiley New York. http://www.violence.de/heath/bfm/article.html
Berman, A.J., Berman, D. & Prescott, J.W. (1974). The effect of cerebellar lesions on emotional behavior in the rhesus monkey. In: The Cerebellum, Epilepsy and Behavior. (Cooper, I.S., Riklon, M.V. & Snider, R.S. (Eds) Plenum, NY
http://www.violence.de/berman/article.html. https://vimeo.com/71761209 - 2 Min
Maternal deaths related to childbirth in the United States are nearly at the highest rate in a quarter century, and a woman giving birth in America is now more likely to die than a woman giving birth in China The Washington Post 5.14.14) reflects the continuing failure of the NIH in securing the Health of this Nation.
In the light of this failed history of the National Institutes of Health over the past some forty years that continues to this day, I do not understand how you can expect the Congress to believe that the NIH can drive innovation through federal investments in science and technology.
The National Institutes of Health, in fact, has abandoned the BioBehavioral Health of this Nation to the Molecular Biology of Biomedical Research. The overall investment in Genomic Biomedical Health Research to the neglect of Social and Public Health issues has seriously eroded the understanding and the mitigation of the lager health issues that loom in our society.
All the Genomic Health in the World cannot resolve the overwhelming social and health problems of this nation. This is no more true than for the epidemics of Sexual Violence in the civilian and military establishments of this nation, not to mention the Sexual Violence and Exploitation of Women and Children reflected in Human Sexual Trafficking.
James W. Prescott, Ph.D. is a developmental Neuropsychologist and cross -cultural psychologist who received his doctorate in psychology from McGill University( 1964)
Assistant Head Physiological Psychology Research Branch Office of Naval Research 1963-1966);
Psychopharmacological and Psychophysiological Research: NIMH Psychopharmacology Research Branch; Department of Psychiatry, George Washington University Medical School (1961-1962).
Health Scientist Administrator, Developmental Behavioral Biology Program National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH (1966-1980).;
President: Maryland Psychological Association (1971-1972)
CINE Golden Eagle Award: for contributions, as Scientific Director, Time Life Documentary Film, "Rock A Bye Baby" (1971)
The 55th Annual Packard Lecture: The Philadelphia Pediatric Society (1971)
State-Of-The-Science Address: Eastern Psychological Association (1975)
Outstanding Contributions To Psychology Award: Highest Award of the Maryland Psychological Association (1977)
Visiting Scholar: Wesleyan University, College of Science In Society (1978
Distinguished Science Address: American Psychiatric Association (1983)
Senate of Canada Testimony: Childhood Experiences as Causes of Criminal Behavior (April.11.1978)
Testimony on Child Abuse and Neglect Research at the National Institutes of Health. U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-Health and Human Services 98th Congress (May 10, 1983). Wm. Natcher, Chair.
Prescott J.W.(1977- NICHD Child Abuse Research Denied and Wrongful Termination
http://www.violence.de/prescott/letters/PRD.html
http://www.violence.de/prescott/letters/NICHD_Chronology.html
Prescott, J.W. (1975). Developmental Neuropsychophysics. In: Malnutrition and Brain Function: Neuropsychological Methods of Assessment. (Prescott, J.W., Read, M.S. and Coursin, D. B., Eds) John Wiley and Sons. New York pp.325-358
http://www.violence.de/BOOKS_OF_THE_CENTURY.html #48 Prescott, J.W. (1980).
Prescott, J.W. (1980). Somatosensory Affectional deprivation (SAD) theory of drug and alcohol use. In: Theories On Drug Abuse: Selected Contemporary Perspectives. Dan J. Lettieri, Mollie Sayers and Helen Wallenstien Pearson, Eds.) NIDA Research Monograph 30, March 1980. National Institute on Drug Abuse, Department of Health and Human Services. Rockville, MD. http://www.violence.de/prescott/nida/drug.pdf
Prescott, J.W.(2005): Prevention Or Therapy And The Politics of Trust: Inspiring a New Human Agenda. in: Psychotherapy and Politics International .(3(3):194-211, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.http://www.interscience.wiley.com; http://www.violence.de/prescott/politics-trust.pdf
Prescott, J.W. 2013). Perspective 6. Nurturant Versus Nonnurturant Environements and the Failure of the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness.(pp.427-438). In: Evolution, Early Experience and Human Development, (Darcia Narvaez, Jaak Panksepp, Allan N. Schore and Tracy R. Gleason, Eds). Oxford University Press. Oxford. New York
