Biological Psychiatry: An interdisciplinary science concerned with studies of the biological bases of behavior - biochemical, genetic, physiological, and neurological - and applying these to the understanding and treatment of mental illness.Psychopharmacology: The study of the effects of drugs on mental and behavioral activity.Psychiatry: The medical science that deals with the origin, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders.
Peter Riederer: Peter Riederer (born 1942) is a German neuroscientist with several thousands of citations and around 950 scientific writings. He has published more than 620 scientific papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals that are indexed in the most referent biomedical scientific database Medline.International Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project: The International Psychopharmacology Algorithm Project (IPAP) is a non-profit corporation whose purpose is to "enable, enhance, and propagate" use of algorithms for the treatment of some Axis I psychiatric disorders.Cross-cultural psychiatry: Cross-cultural psychiatry, transcultural psychiatry, or cultural psychiatry is a branch of psychiatry concerned with the cultural context of mental disorders and the challenges of addressing ethnic diversity in psychiatric services. It emerged as a coherent field from several strands of work, including surveys of the prevalence and form of disorders in different cultures or countries; the study of migrant populations and ethnic diversity within countries; and analysis of psychiatry itself as a cultural product.
(1/20) The biological basis of behavioral symptoms in dementia.
This article describes the pathophysiology of dementia and differentiates between cognitive and noncognitive symptoms that characterize this devastating illness. Relationships between brain anatomic and neurochemical systems and behavioral symptoms of dementia are discussed. An overview of the etiologies and neuro-pathologies of dementia are presented as they relate to impairments in memory and intellectual abilities, personality changes, and behavioral symptoms. Recent genetic and molecular discoveries that have advanced our understanding of this complex spectrum of disorders and their treatment(s) are also highlighted. (+info)
(2/20) Neuropsychiatry of frontal lobe dysfunction in violent and criminal behaviour: a critical review.
OBJECTIVES: To establish the link between frontal lobe dysfunction and violent and criminal behaviour, based on a review of relevant literature. METHODS: Articles relating evidence of frontal lobe dysfunction with violence or crime were collected through a MEDLINE search using the keyword "frontal lobe" combined with the terms "aggression," "violence," "crime," "antisocial personality disorder," "psychopathy," "impulse control disorders", and "episodic dyscontrol." Reference lists were then searched for additional articles. RESULTS: High rates of neuropsychiatric abnormalities reported in persons with violent and criminal behaviour suggest an association between aggressive dyscontrol and brain injury, especially involving the frontal lobes. The studies reviewed support an association between frontal lobe dysfunction and increased aggressive and antisocial behaviour. Focal orbitofrontal injury is specifically associated with increased aggression. Deficits in frontal executive function may increase the likelihood of future aggression, but no study has reliably demonstrated a characteristic pattern of frontal network dysfunction predictive of violent crime. CONCLUSIONS: Clinically significant focal frontal lobe dysfunction is associated with aggressive dyscontrol, but the increased risk of violence seems less than is widely presumed. Evidence is strongest for an association between focal prefrontal damage and an impulsive subtype of aggressive behaviour. (+info)
(3/20) Ethical issues of cost effectiveness analysis and guideline setting in mental health care.
This article discusses ethical issues which are raised as a result of the introduction of economic evidence in mental health care in order to rationalise clinical practice. Cost effectiveness studies and guidelines based on such studies are often seen as impartial, neutral instruments which try to reduce the influence of non-scientific factors. However, such rationalising instruments often hide normative assumptions about the goals of treatment, the selection of treatments, the role of the patient, and the just distribution of scarce resources. These issues are dealt with in the context of increased control over clinical practice by third parties. In particular, health insurers have a great interest in economic evidence in clinical care settings in order to control access to and quality of (mental) health care. The authors conclude that guideline setting and cost effectiveness analysis may be seen as important instruments for making choices in health care, including mental health care, but that such an approach should always go hand in hand with a social and political debate about the goals of medicine and (mental) health care. This article is partly based on the results of a research project on the normative aspects of guideline setting in psychiatry and cardiology which was conducted under the guidance of the Royal Dutch Medical Association. (+info)
(4/20) A proposal to classify happiness as a psychiatric disorder.
It is proposed that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder and be included in future editions of the major diagnostic manuals under the new name: major affective disorder, pleasant type. In a review of the relevant literature it is shown that happiness is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, is associated with a range of cognitive abnormalities, and probably reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system. One possible objection to this proposal remains--that happiness is not negatively valued. However, this objection is dismissed as scientifically irrelevant. (+info)
(5/20) The dimensional approach to clinical psychopharmacology: a polysemous concept.
The last decade has seen significant progress in the development and specific clinical application of selective psychotropes. The dimensional approach to clinical psychopharmacology views the behavioral targets of psychotropes as phenomena existing on a continuum and as components, in varying degrees, of most psychopathologies. The modern concept of dimension has been used in different contexts. In psychology it has a mathematical sense, whereas in biological psychiatry it is associated more with biological function. This paper reviews these two concepts and the recent models attempting to merge them into one. The heuristic value of the dimensional approach, as well as some of its pitfalls and new avenues of research, are discussed. (+info)
(6/20) The use of standardized patients for mock oral board exams in neurology: a pilot study.
BACKGROUND: Mock oral board exams, fashioned after the live patient hour of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology exam, are commonly part of resident assessment during residency training. Exams using real patients selected from clinics or hospitals are not standardized and do not allow comparisons of resident performance across the residency program. We sought to create a standardized patient mock oral board exam that would allow comparison of residents' clinical performance. METHODS: Three cases were created and then used for this mock oral boards exercise utilizing trained standardized patients. Residents from the University of Cincinnati and Indiana University participated in the exam. Residents were scored by attending physician examiners who directly observed the encounter with the standardized patient. The standardized patient also assessed each resident. A post-test survey was administered to ascertain participant's satisfaction with the examination process. RESULTS: Resident scores were grouped within one standard deviation of the mean, with the exception of one resident who was also subjectively felt to "fail" the exam. In exams with two faculty "evaluators", scores were highly correlated. The survey showed satisfaction with the examination process in general. CONCLUSION: Standardized patients can be used for mock oral boards in the live patient format. Our initial experience with this examination process was positive. Further testing is needed to determine if this examination format is more reliable and valid than traditional methods of assessing resident competency. (+info)
(7/20) Karoly Schaffer and his school: the birth of biological psychiatry in Hungary, 1890-1940.
In the first third of the twentieth century, neuropathology seemed to offer the key to unlock the causes of psychiatric illness. Among the top centers devoted to the microscopic anatomy of the brain was that of Karoly Schaffer in Budapest. Schaffer, a pioneer in the histopathology of Tay-Sachs-Schaffer disease, was also a charismatic teacher, bringing forth a school of investigators in psychopathology. Among them was Laszlo Meduna, who originated convulsive therapy. Despite the importance of the Schaffer school, it is almost unknown outside of Hungary, largely the result of the introduction of neurophysiological, neurochemical and molecular genetic methods that distracted attention away from histopathological contributions in psychiatry after the Second World War. The microscopic study of the brain and its diseases seemed increasingly less important. The present biographical account of Karoly Schaffer and his school seeks to bring this important story in the early history of biological psychiatry to a wider audience and explain why it has since been forgotten. (+info)
(8/20) Pharmacogenomics: the promise of personalized medicine for CNS disorders.
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