Abraham Wikler Papers
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Abraham Wikler Papers
- Date
- 1944-1980, undated (inclusive)
- Creator
- Wikler, Abraham
- Extent
- 7.93 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Medical colleges -- Kentucky -- Faculty.
- Research -- Kentucky -- Lexington.
- Neuropharmacology -- Research
- Drug addiction -- Research
- Psychopharmacology -- Research
- Wikler, Abraham
- Arrangement
- Collection retains its original order. Where possible original folder names were retained.
- Preferred Citation
- Accession # : [identification of item], Title of Collection, date, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Abraham Wikler (1910-1981), researcher in psychopharmacology, neuropharmacology, addiction to opiates, alcohol, and marijuana, and brain-behavior relations, was born on October 12, 1910, in New York, New York. Father Isaac Wikler (1884-1944) and mother Clara B. Wortman (1891-1966) were born in Poland, lived in Austria, and immigrated to the United States between 1903 and 1907. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School (New York, New York) in 1927. He received an AB degree from Columbia College (now Columbia University, New York, New York) in 1930 and an MD from Long Island College of Medicine (now the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York) in 1935.
- Following internships between 1935 and 1938 at Montefiore Hospital (New York, NY), Jewish Hospital (Brooklyn, NY), Kingston Avenue Hospital (Brooklyn, NY), and the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Hospital (Stapleton, NY), Wikler was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Public Health Service, serving from 1938 to 1963 in the following roles: Medical Officer, USPHS Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri (1938-1940); Psychiatric Resident, USPHS Hospital, Lexington, KY (1940-1942); Detached Duty (extramural study in neurophysiology, experimental psychology, and neuropathology) at various American locations (1942-1943); and Experimental Neuropsychiatrist and Associate Director and Chief, Section on Experimental Neuropsychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Addiction Research Center (ARC), Lexington, Kentucky (1943-1963). Between 1959-1960, Wikler was Acting Director and from 1960-1961, he was on Detached Duty (extramural study in neuropharmacology and psychopharmacology) at various European locations. He received certification in both neurology and psychiatry from the Ameircan Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in 1944.
- Following his retirement from the USPHS, Wikler was appointed Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in 1962. His appointment changed to Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology in 1963. He became professor emeritus in 1978 until his death on March 7, 1981.
- Wikler published four books and 160 articles. He was a Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He was warded the USPHS Meritorious Service Medal, 1963; the Medallion for Distinguished Service to American Medicine by the Alumni Association, State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, 1967; and the National Academy of Sciences Nathan B. Eddy Memorial Award for excellence in drug abuse research, 1976. He was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, CA, 1970-1971.
- Wikler married Ada Fay Fischer (1915-2007) on July 29, 1933, in the Bronx, New York, New York. They had four children, including Marjorie Wikler Senechal (1938- ), Norma Juliet Wikler Feinberg (1942-2002), Daniel Isaac Wikler (1946- ), and Jean C. Wikler Kazen (1948- ).
- Sources: 1. McIntire, T. R. (2008). "Retrospective survey of the career of Abraham Wikler" [MA Thesis]. Boston University School of Medicine. 2. 2018ua031: "Wikler, Abraham." University of Kentucky Libraries. Special Collections Research Center. Faculty/Staff General Reference Files. 3. "Wikler, Abraham." Ancestry.com. Accessed 12/23/2024.
- Scope and Content
- The Abraham Wikler Papers (dated 1944-1980, undated; 7.93 cubic feet; 6 record storage cartons, 5 document boxes, 1 slim box) comprise published and unpublished book and manuscript articles; presentation notes, transcripts, and lists; and research note cards that document Wikler's research and writing on the subjects of psychopharmacology, neuropharmacology, addiction to opiates, alcohol, and marijuana, and brain-behavior relations. Collection is described in the order it was received. It appears from documents in the collection that the papers were organized into groups by Ada Wikler and Harris Shell.
- Processing Info
- Collection is described in the order it was received. It appears from documents in the collection that the papers were organized into groups by Ada Wikler and Harris Shell.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment
- Use Restrictions
- Property rights reside with the University of Kentucky. The University of Kentucky holds the copyright for materials created in the course of business by University of Kentucky employees. Copyright for all other materials has not been assigned to the University of Kentucky. For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Oral presentations or lectures, numbered and with a list (12 folders), 1944-1975, undated
Unpublished or unlocated manuscripts, some very similar to ones published, numbered and with a list (13 folders), 1952-1979, undated, 1970s
- Box 2
- Box 3
Scope and Contents
Series includes some handwritten drafts and reviews. Notes by Ada Wikler and Harris Shell indicate that number 11 is the most important.
Published manuscripts, numbered and with a list (43 folders), 1957-1977
- Box 3
- Box 4
Scope and Contents
Includes handwritten and typed manuscripts and reprints. Some folders contain multiple versions of the published paper.
Monographs: manuscript and index notes for Opiod Dependence: Mechanisms and Treatment (6 folders), 1980
Monographs: Psychopharmacology syllabus (supplement to the Relation of Psychiatry to Pharmacology) (3 folders), 1971, 1975
Notecards
Box 1: Abstract cards by subject for bibliography
Box 2: Reprint cards, authors A-Z (box 1)
Box 3: Reprints by subject and abstract
Box 4: Number file; abstract cards
Boxes 5-6: Subjects alphabetical X-Ref; Unlabeled
Box 7: Syllabus-abstract; reprint cards by syllabus
Box 8: Abstract, authors and titles only
Box 11: Authors and abstracts, old, A-N
Box 12: Reprints S300-6000, numerical file, also subjects
Box 13: Abstract cards by author, title, and abstracts, A-Z, number 1
Box 14: Abstract cards, authors and titles, A-Z, (box 2), also miscellaneous
Box 15: Abstracts, author and title, A-Z, O-Z, 2 sets
Special Collections Research Center - Closed
The Breckinridge Research Room will be closed starting May 11, 2026, and anticipates re-opening Fall semester 2026 in an alternate location for the duration of the King Library renovation.
Reproduction requests will still be available during the closure.
Contact SCRC with questions.
Table of Contents
- Abstract
- Descriptive Summary
- Collection Overview
- Preferred Citation
- Restrictions on Access and Use
- Contents of the Collection
- Oral presentations or lectures, numbered and with a list (12 folders), 1944-1975, undated
- Unpublished or unlocated manuscripts, some very similar to ones published, numbered and with a list (13 folders), 1952-1979, undated, 1970s
- Published manuscripts, numbered and with a list (43 folders), 1957-1977
- Monographs: manuscript and index notes for Opiod Dependence: Mechanisms and Treatment (6 folders), 1980
- Monographs: Psychopharmacology syllabus (supplement to the Relation of Psychiatry to Pharmacology) (3 folders), 1971, 1975
- Notecards
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Special Collections Research Center - Closed
The Breckinridge Research Room will be closed starting May 11, 2026, and anticipates re-opening Fall semester 2026 in an alternate location for the duration of the King Library renovation.
Reproduction requests will still be available during the closure.
Contact SCRC with questions.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
