bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Stereotypy in monkeys and humans
Authors: Ridley Rosalind M. , Baker Harry F.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Stereotyped movements are described in monkeys and humans and are classified as arising from constraint, sensory deprivation in infancy, amphetamine treatment or psychotic states. It is argued that, with the exception of cage stereotypies, stereotyped behaviour is evidence of abnormality in the nervous system consequent upon distorted maturational processes, organic defect or biochemical disturbance. Stereotypy is associated with a state of cognitive inflexibility and social and sensory isolation in humans and monkeys. It is suggested that, while no simple biochemical disturbance in the brain can describe these various occurrences of stereotypy, the cross-species occurrence of a syndrome of isolation, cognitive inflexibility and stereotypy implies a related mechanism mediating these divergent effects. If stereotypy is regarded as a consequence of failure to use sensory input to direct behaviour, therapeutic regimes designed to stimulate responsive behaviours and social interactions are more likely to be effective in the long run than direct attempts to suppress stereotypy.
Picture perception and abstract thought in schizophrenia
Authors: Reich Shuli S. , Cutting John
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Acute schizophrenics were compared with depressed, normal and brain-damaged subjects on their ability to appreciate a meaningful picture. Their responses were measured for level of abstraction (how well the theme was conveyed), for strategy (whether details were reported before or after a global interpretation) and for appropriateness of content. Schizophrenics were less abstract than normals, more abstract than brain-damaged subjects, but no different from depressives on this measure. Their strategy was different from normals but comparable with that of depressives. The majority of schizophrenics gave inappropriate responses. It is suggested that meaningful picture interpretation might be a useful tool for evaluating the distortion of meaning which characterizes schizophrenia.
The course and outcome of cycloid psychosis
Authors: Brockington I. F. , Perris C. , Kendell R. E. , Hillier V. E. , Wainwright S.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Thirty patients with cycloid psychosis were found among 244 general psychotic and schizo-affective patients studied in London. The main clues to the diagnosis were the presence of ‘confusion’, a pleomorphic clinical picture or an acute onset. Most of the patients were classified as schizophrenic by British psychiatrists and the Catego system, and as schizo-affective or mood-incongruent affective psychotics by the American Research Diagnostic Criteria and DSM-III. There was little overlap between the cycloids and any Anglo-American category, and cycloid psychosis is not synonymous with schizo-affective psychosis. The outcome of the cycloids was better than that of psychotic patients as a whole, and much better than schizophrenia as defined by Catego, Schneider's, Langfeldt's or Carpenter's rules, or by the guidelines set by the International Classification of Diseases. Compared with manic-depressive patients (defined by the presence of mania at some stage), cycloids had more schizophrenic and fewer depressive and manic symptoms. There was a negligible concordance between the diagnosis of cycloid psychosis and the final diagnosis of manic-depressive disease. It is concluded that these patients should not be diagnosed as schizophrenic, but that the relation of cycloid psychosis to manic-depressive disease is not yet resolved.
Regional differences in obsessionality and obsessional neurosis
Authors: Scott A. , Kelleher M. J. , Smith A. , Murray R. M.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The Leyton Obsessional Inventory was administered to 69 orthopaedic patients in Glasgow, and their responses were compared with those of 77 similar subjects in London and 73 in Cork. The responses of the Scots and the English did not differ, but both of these groups were significantly less obsessional than the Irish subjects, who were particularly likely to regard cleanliness and tidiness as virtues in themselves. Obsessionality was unrelated to age, sex, social class, family size and birth order, but higher Leyton scores were found among bachelors, and among women living in the country and without outside employment. It is suggested that the common factor among these 3 subgroups is emotional or geographic isolation, and that this may enhance any tendency to obsessional ruminations and routines. This could also account for the higher Leyton scores and greater incidence of obsessional neurosis in the Irish.
Serum dihydrobiopterin levels in patients on tricyclic antidepressants
Authors: Leeming R. J. , Blair J. A. , Walters J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Serum levels of 7, 8-dihydrobiopterin were significantly raised in female patients with depressive illness who were being treated with tricyclic antidepressants.
From social medicine to social psychiatry: the achievement of Sir Aubrey Lewis
Authors: Shepherd Michael
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

A brief account is given of the evolution of the concept of social psychiatry and its relationship to that of social medicine. The central role played in its scientific development by Sir Aubrey Lewis is traced in some detail.
Parental death in childhood and risk of adult depressive disorders: a review
Authors: Tennant Christopher , Bebbington Paul , Hurry Jane
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

The authors review the evidence that parental death in childhood predisposes to depressive disorders in later life. The findings in general are quite inconsistent; this is due in part to the methodological limitations of most studies, principally that of inadequate control of potentially confounding variables. Where experimental and control samples were most rigorously matched, no association was found between childhood parental bereavement and depression in later life. Parental death in childhood appears to have little effect on adult depressive morbidity.
Reduced activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme in basal ganglia in early onset schizophrenia
Authors: Arregui Alberto , Mackay Angus V. P. , Spokes Ernest G. , Iversen Leslie L.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

The dipeptidyl peptidase, angiotensin-converting enzyme (EC 3.4.15.1), was measured in various regions of post-mortem brains. Results from 51 patients with the hospital diagnosis of schizophrenia who were divided into the clinical categories of ‘schizophrenia’ and ‘schizophrenialike’ illness on the basis of case-note analysis were compared with those from 40 control subjects. A significant reduction in angiotensin-converting enzyme activity was observed only in the substantia nigra pars reticulata and in the lateral and medial segments of globus pallidus in the ‘schizophrenia’ group, with no significant differences in enzyme activity in substantia nigra pars compacta, caudate nucleus, nucleus accumbens, subthalamic nucleus or cerebellar cortex. Reduced enzyme activity was not seen in the ‘schizophrenia-like’ group, and occurred most significantly in ‘schizophrenia’ patients in whom the onset of the illness had occurred between the ages of 15 and 24 years. In the control population the activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme in substantia nigra pars reticulata decreased significantly with age. It is possible that patients with early onset ‘schizophrenia’ may represent a separate disease entity, rather than belonging to a spectrum of a single disease.
Neurotic illness and its response to anxiolytic and antidepressant treatment
Authors: Johnstone Eve C. , Owens D. G. Cunningham , Frith C. D. , McPherson Klim , Dowie C. , Riley G. , Gold Aviva
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

Two hundred and forty neurotic out-patients were allocated to no diagnostic category but were rated in terms of observer and self ratings of both depression and anxiety at weekly intervals during a 4-week trial of amitriptyline, diazepam, amitriptyline and diazepam, and placebo. The sample could not be divided into anxious and depressed groups on the basis of the clinical picture. The outcome tended to be good irrespective of medication but the significant drug effects found were due to amitriptyline and concerned measures of anxiety as well as depression. It is concluded that a distinction between anxiety and depression in neurotic out-patients is of no practical value with regard to drug treatment.
Prediction of clinical course of bipolar manic depressive illness treated with lithium
Authors: Johnston B. B. , Naylor G. J. , Dick E. G. , Hopwood S. E. , Dick D. A. T.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

A group of bipolar manic depressive patients attending a routine lithium clinic were investigated. The results suggest that, when on treatment with lithium, manic depressive patients with a good prognosis tend to have a higher erythrocyte Na-K ATPase and higher plasma and erythrocyte lithium concentrations than those with a poor prognosis. There was no evidence to suggest that the erythrocyte: plasma lithium ratio was useful in predicting clinical response to lithium therapy. There was also a positive correlation between plasma lithium concentration and Na–K ATPase activity, confirming that in manic depressive subjects lithium produces a rise in erythrocyte Na–K ATPase activity.
Drug-related and illness-related factors in the outcome of chlorpromazine treatment: testing a model
Authors: Kolakowska T. , Gelder M. G. , Orr M. W.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

Patients who presented with acute psychoses and were treated with chlorpromazine were first divided into 2 groups with good (23) and poor (13) outcome. These outcome groups differed little in their initial clinical features and showed no difference in 2 indices of dopamine receptor blockade (extrapyramidal symptoms and plasma prolactin concentrations). The group which improved was then subdivided on the basis of evidence of dopaminergic blockade into 15 who had improved and also showed anti-dopamine effects (‘responders’) and 8 who had improved but showed no anti-dopamine effects (‘remitters’) The remainder were eventually classified as ‘resistant’ to the effects of the drug. The group of ‘remitters’ contained no patients with nuclear schizophrenia; the ‘responders’ were mainly nuclear schizophrenics; and the ‘resistant’ patients were schizophrenic or schizo-affective. The 3 groups who were defined in this way also differed in their subsequent clinical course. It is suggested that this scheme for dividing patients may be useful in clinical work and could also assist research workers to identify the patients who can most appropriately be studied to determine mechanisms of drug action.
Violent crime and the menstrual cycle
Authors: d'Orbán P. T. , Dalton J.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

Of 50 women charged with crimes of violence, 44% committed their offence during the paramenstruum (P < 0·02) and there was a significant lack of offences during the ovulatory and post-ovulatory phases of the menstrual cycle (P < 0·01). This association could not be accounted for by psychosocial factors. Offences were unrelated to symptoms of premenstrual tension. When considering treatment, recurrent behavioural changes rather than subjective symptoms should be looked for.
An investigation of the genetic aspects of the alpha attenuation response
Authors: Young J. P. R. , Fenton G. W.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

The alpha attenuation response (AAR) and its habituation rate during the course of 60 serially presented paired flash stimuli was measured in a small but homogeneous group of male identical and fraternal twins, all within the age range 19 to 40 years. Comparison of the intraclass correlation coefficients for each of the recorded AAR parameters between the two twin series and a constructed series of genetically unrelated individuals indicated that individual differences in the variables measured were significantly influenced by heredity. The findings are discussed in relation to previously reported studies of the genetic aspects of the normal spontaneous EEG.
Present status of the concept of drug dependence
Authors: Wikler Abraham
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

At least for heuristic purposes, certain operationally definable concepts of conditioning theory can serve as a framework for research on ‘drug dependence’ both in man and in animals: primary and secondary pharmacological reinforcement, either of which may be direct (‘psychic’) or indirect (‘physical’); and social reinforcement (‘cultural’).
Severely retarded children in a London area: prevalence and provision of services
Authors: Wing Lorna
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

A one-day census was made (from the Camberwell Register) of children excluded from education in school, children in ESN schools with IQs of 49 or below, and pre-school children suspected of being severely retarded. Their service placements were again recorded 26 months later. Comparison with other prevalence studies suggests that the ‘true’ prevalence of severe retardation (IQ 49 or below) for school-age children in the United Kingdom at the present time is approximately 3·6 to 4·0 per 1,000 (age-specific rate). About 40% of these children are also non-ambulant, or severely incontinent or have severe behaviour disorders. Early identification and plentiful provision of day places alone do not necessarily reduce the demand for residential accommodation. Detailed studies are needed to determine the factors which exacerbate or minimize the problems faced by families with severely retarded children.
Sedative effects on physiological and psychological measures in anxious patients
Authors: Bond Alyson J. , James D. Colin , Lader Malcolm H.
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSIS

Twenty outpatients with chronic anxiety states were tested on a large battery of physiological and psychological tests after amylobarbitone sodium, chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, and medazepam given in flexible dosage and compared with a placebo. Each patient received all five treatments for two to four weeks under double-blind conditions, as part of a fully balanced design. The tests included the electroencephalogram, the auditory evoked response, skin conductance, the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, the Gibson Spiral Maze, and arithmetic tests, together with psychiatrist and patient ratings. Correlations within and between the different measures were computed. The benzodiazepines depressed slow wave and increased fast wave activity of the EEG, diminished the evoked response, reduced fluctuations in the skin conductance, and decreased motor speed on the Gibson Maze. Amylobarbitone had less physiological effect but impaired performance on the Gibson Maze and arithmetic tests. Significant correlations were found between the mean Hamilton and patient ratings and the physiological measures. It is concluded that physiological changes show useful correlations with clinical effects.
Clinical comparison of anxiolytic drug therapy
Authors: Lader Malcolm H. , Bond Alyson J. , James D. Colin
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSIS

Twenty outpatients suffering from chronic anxiety states completed a trial of anxiolytic drug therapy. They each received five treatments: amylobarbitone sodium, chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, medazepam, and a placebo in flexible dosage in a fully balanced design, using doubleblind procedures. They were assessed on the Hamilton rating scale for anxiety after a period of two to four weeks on each of the treatments and they completed self-ratings every three days. The selfratings were composed of at least three prime symptoms chosen by the patient himself and phrased in his own words as well as ‘loss of appetite’ and ‘insomnia’. Neither placebo nor amylobarbitone produced any substantial improvement from pre-drug levels of anxiety but all three benzodiazepines produced significant and very similar decreases in both Hamilton ratings and self-ratings. These two measures also correlated highly. The majority of the patients continued with medazepam at the end of the formal trial.
Antihypertensive drugs and depression
Authors: Snaith R. P. , McCoubrie M.
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSIS

The introduction of reserpine into western medical practice led to an outbreak of iatrogenic depression. It also stimulated research into the fundamental biochemical errors underlying depressive illness. In view of this historical incident it is surprising that other drugs used in the treatment of hypertension, especially those producing their therapeutic effects by a similar mechanism to reserpine, have not been more critically evaluated. This field of research calls for valid self-rating instruments in order to survey a large population. Using this method, it was found that there was no evidence of a relation between the administration of methyldopa or other drugs and depressive illness. These findings are an indication that adverse psychiatric effects of drugs for hypertension, and methyldopa in particular, may be less common than is sometimes supposed. It is concluded that the matter should be clarified by a careful prospective study.
Daily routines of pre-school children: effects of age, birth order, sex and social class, and developmental correlates
Authors: Lawson Annette , Ingleby J. D.
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSIS

Children's daily activities and interactions were quantified from mothers' accounts of the preceding 24-hour period. These ‘diaries’ were obtained on three occasions from 54 families with two pre-school children. Effects of age, birth order, sex, and social class were found which support the findings of other studies: an inverted U-shaped relationship existed between the intensity of attention received and the child's intelligence and developmental quotients. A relatively high correlation between IQ and an affective measure of child care furnished further evidence that the differences in caretaking relevant to intellectual development are qualitative rather than quantitative ones.
A Comment On treatment analogues for phobic anxiety states
Authors: Olley Marjorie , McAllister Harry
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSIS

Much of the development of behavioural methods of treatment for phobic anxiety has relied on volunteer subjects participating in analogue studies investigating appropriate procedures. In this study a group of volunteer subjects with specific phobias is compared on psychometric tests with phobic patients and a normal control group. Results indicate significant differences between the volunteers and patients, in spite of the two groups sharing a common disabling symptom. The patients are distinguished by their high level of neuroticism, anxiety, and general psychiatric symptomology. Such differences raise difficulties of interpretation and indicate the need for caution in the extrapolation of analogue study results to the clinical situation.
Unit for Research on Addictive Drugs, University of Aberdeen
Authors: Kosterlitz H. W.
Published: July 2009

SYSNOPSIS

The Unit for Research on Addictive Drugs, University of Aberdeen, was established in October 1973 in order to facilitate the continuation and expansion of the research activities of the Department of Pharmacology in the field of narcotic analgesics when Professor H. W. Kosterlitz retired from the Chair of Pharmacology. The formation of the unit was made possible by the provision of sufficient laboratory and office space by the university, by the continuing support from the U.S. Committee on Problems of Drug Dependence, and a new substantial grant from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (Special Action Office of Drug Abuse Prevention), now provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Vocabulary deficit and abstraction impairment in hospitalized alcoholics
Authors: Draper Ronald J. , Manning Angela
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The use of a standard intelligence test for detecting cognitive impairment has been re-examined in a cohort of 506 hospitalized alcoholics. The value of Vocabulary scores as indicators of original intelligence was tested by formulating the hypothesis that Vocabulary scores would remain constant despite increasing degrees of alcohol-induced cerebral dysfunction. Subjects were assigned to non-dysfunctional, minimal, moderate and severe dysfunctional groups on the basis of psychometric testing and their Wechsler Vocabulary scores categorized as either ‘abstract’, ‘concrete’ or ‘wrong’. Significant linear deficits in Vocabulary score and loss of abstract ability correlated with increasing dysfunction, irrespective of age but with greater frequency in females.
How parent attitudes and emotional reactions affect their handicapped child's self-concept
Authors: Harvey David , Greenway Philip
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The parents of 24 physically handicapped children were grouped according to their responses to a Primary Mood Factors grid and comparisons were made with their children's responses to a self-concept scale. It was found that parents who were close together in their primary mood reactions had handicapped children who were more positive in self-esteem than those dyads who were divided in their primary mood reaction.
Self-assessment of health: an exploration of the effects of physical and psychological symptoms
Authors: Murray Joanna , Dunn Graham , Tarnopolsky Alex
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The clinician has no objective criteria of good health; he is likely to identify its presence only in the absence of disease and dysfunction. Yet the layman is able to give a global assessment of his own health as good, average or poor. The present paper explores the correlates of self-assessment of health in a large community sample and, by the use of two linear models, describes the effects of age, sex, reported symptoms, and long-standing illness on self-rated health status. It is suggested that global ratings are influenced by age and sex and by the experience of both physical and psychological symptoms, and that there are no interactive effects between symptoms and the demographic variables.
Limits of the ‘Mini-Mental State’ as a screening test for dementia and delirium among hospital patients
Authors: Anthony James C. , LeResche Linda , Niaz Unaiza , Von Korff Michael R. , Folstein Marshal F.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

With a psychiatrist's standardized clinical diagnosis as the criterion, the ‘Mini-Mental State’ Examination (MMSE) was 87% sensitive and 82% specific in detecting dementia and delirium among hospital patients on a general medical ward. The false positive ratio was 39% and the false negative ratio was 5 %. All false positives had less than 9 years of education; many were 60 years of age or older. Performance on specific MMSE items was related to education or age. These findings confirm the MMSE's value as a screen instrument for dementia and delirium when later, more intensive diagnostic enquiry is possible; they reinforce earlier suggestions that the MMSE alone cannot yield a diagnosis for these conditions.
The problem of screening for uncommon disorders – a comment on the Eating Attitudes Test
Authors: Williams Paul , Hand David , Tarnopolsky Alex
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Screening for uncommon disorders gives rise to methodological problems. One of these problems is identified and discussed within the context of the Eating Attitudes Test.
Prevalence rates for the neuroses: pitfalls in the evaluation of familiality
Authors: Carey Gregory , Gottesman Irving I. , Robins Eli
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

A survey was made of studies reporting population prevalence rates for the different types of neurotic disorders in order to determine the utility of these rates for familial and genetic research. Rates varied considerably among studies both for all neuroses and for particular types of neuroses, even among studies using similar methods examining similar populations. The method of case ascertainment (personal interviewversusrecord searches) and the threshold for defining an individual as affected are important contributors to variation. The use of the published prevalence rates for quantifying familial and genetic effects on the neurotic disorders would be premature.
The structure of depression found in the general population
Authors: Cooke David J.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

Principal component analysis was applied to data relating to depressive experiences collected from a general population sample. The structure of depression found in the general population showed strong similarities to that found in the psychiatric population. There were, however, important differences. Four substantial syndromes of depression were identified: ‘anxiety depression’, ‘cognitive depression’, ‘vegetative depression’ and depression characterized by the classic endogenous triad of diurnal variations, early wakening, and weight loss. These syndromes were essentially independent for this sample. Examination of component score distributions suggested that people simultaneously experience differing degrees of each syndrome. It was concluded that depression was most parsimoniously classified in dimensional rather than categorical terms within this sample.
The treated prevalence of mental illness in the Republic of Ireland – the three county case register study
Authors: Walsh Dermot , O'Hare Aileen , Blake Bertram , Halpenny John V. , O'Brien Patrick F.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

In-patient data show high rates for mental illness in the Republic of Ireland, particularly for schizophrenia. ‘One-day prevalence’ figures from the Three County psychiatric case register have been compared with similar data from the Camberwell register. The results confirm much higher contact rates in Ireland.
A schizophrenic subgroup: type A5
Authors: Kadobayashi Iwao , Haga Hiroshi , Fukui Yoshihisa , Kato Nobukatsu
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

This report concerns a group of schizophrenics whose visual evoked potential reduced in amplitude most markedly in A5 (averaged potential evoked by 1 Hz flashes which started 5 min after the addition test for 15 min). These patients in general had poor productive symptoms and progressed very slowly. Most of them were simple schizophrenics.
Failure of lithium treatment in established tardive dyskinesia
Authors: Mackay Angus V. P. , Sheppard Graham P. , Saha Bimal K. , Motley Brenda , Johnson Anthony L. , Marsden C. David
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

Eleven patients with tardive dyskinesia were treated with lithium carbonate in a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover study. No significant effect of lithium on either tardive dyskinesia or blood prolactin concentrations was demonstrated, but 5 patients developed pseudo-Parkinsonian features.
‘A plastic power ministering to organisation’: interpretations of the mind–body relation in late nineteenth-century British psychiatry
Authors: Clark Michael J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Late nineteenth-century medico-psychological approaches to the mind–body problem are discussed in relation to psychiatry's theoretical constitution as a distinct ‘mind–body’ science and practice, and to John Hughlings Jackson's ‘doctrine of concomitance’. Psychiatric ‘explanations’ of the mind–body relation are interpreted as expressions of psychiatry's independent professional interestsvis-à-visneurology and general medicine.
Adverse effects of anticholinergic medication on positive schizophrenic symptoms
Authors: Johnstone Eve C. , Crow Timothy J. , Ferrier I. Nicol , Frith Christopher D. , Owens David G. C. , Bourne Rachel C. , Gamble Stephen J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

In a series of 36 patients with acute schizophrenia flupenthixol dosage was blindly adjusted to give a fixed level of sedation. Patients were then randomly allocated to procyclidine or placebo. The patients receiving procyclidine experienced more positive schizophrenic symptoms and less severe extrapyramidal features by comparison with placebo patients. Blood levels of prolactin and flupenthixol estimated by radloimmunoassay were not significantly changed by the addition of procyclidine. Flupenthixol dosage and levels and prolactin levels were significantly related. There was no significant association between clinical and laboratory measures, with the exception that a curvilinear (inverted U) relationship was demonstrated between flupenthixol levels and antipsychotic and extrapyramidal effects. This relationship may be due to the fact that, in a study of this design, patients resistant to the effects of neuroleptic medication are likely to be given the highest doses. The findings support earlier claims that anticholinergic medication has adverse effects on schizophrenic symptoms.
Psychiatric Clinic of the Free University of Berlin; Department of Clinical Psychiatry and Polyclinic (Psychiatrische Klinik der Freien Universität Berlin; Abteilung für Klinische Psychiatrie und Poliklinik)
Authors: Helmchen H.
Published: July 2009

The Department of Psychiatry in its present form has developed since 1968, when the psychiatric branch of the Psychiatrische und Neurologische Klinik (Psychiatric and Neurological Clinic), the traditional type of a West German university hospital comprising psychiatry and neurology in one chair, became autonomous with the establishment of an independent chair of psychiatry. This was an early step in the separation of psychiatry and neurology, a situation which is now to be seen in all German universities. Moreover, during the last decade almost all psychiatric university departments have been more or less sub-divided into sub-specialities. This process has been carried to its furthest extreme in West Berlin which now has departments of clinical psychiatry, geronto-psychiatry, social psychiatry, psychosomatics, child and adolescent psychiatry, neuropsychopharmacology, psychophysiology, student mental health, and forensic psychiatry. The lines of demarcation have been drawn according to somewhat divergent (historical, personal, conceptual) criteria, so that the individual departments differ in size, research interests and research facilities. More than 10 professors, 15 senior doctors and about 50 assistants (physicians, psychologists, sociologists, mathematicians, chemists and engineers) make up a critical mass, but centrifugal forces are often dominant and restrain the optimal use of all facilities for real interdisciplinary collaboration in the sense of what has been described as the ‘agricultural’ approach to research (Shepherd, 1981).
Life events and psychiatric disorders Part 2: nature of causal link
Authors: Brown G. W. , Harris T. O. , Peto J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Methods are first described for testing for and measuring the proportion involved in the causal link between life-events and psychiatric disorders; the paper then deals with the nature of the causal effect itself. A method is described (and developed mathematically in an appendix) which enables a choice to be made between a triggering effect in which events are seen as precipitating an illness that would probably have occurred before long for other reasons, and a formative effect in which life-events either substantially advance onset in time, or bring it about altogether. The method is used to demonstrate the presence of a formative effect in depressive and a triggering effect in schizophrenic disorders.
Social structure and the ecological distribution of mental illness, suicide, and delinquency
Authors: Bagley Christopher , Jacobson Solomon , Palmer Clare
Published: July 2009

Data on serious psychiatric illness (900 cases), suicide (150 cases), indictable crime (1,300 cases), and child welfare problems (800 cases) in individuals living in Brighton have been collected. Rates of these behavioural pathologies have been calculated for 19 wards in the city, and correlated with data collected in the 1966 Census. Results show that the behavioural pathologies are strongly intercorrelated and are associated with in-migrant areas containing rooming houses of poor quality. These areas tend to be in the city centre. Rates of psychiatric illness, including diagnostic groups in different age and sex groups, have been calculated for 110 enumeration districts in the city, and these rates correlated with factor scores from the principal components analysis of 53 census variables. Complex patterning of the data has been demonstrated. The identification of small areas in the city with high rates of behavioural pathology in particular social settings is an important precursor of the establishment of special measures for prevention and treatment. An important area for future research is the establishment of causal patterns, and the investigation of the primary or secondary role of social conditions in the emergence of mental illness and other behavioural pathology.
Awareness of body dimensions in anorexia nervosa: cross-sectional and longitudinal studies
Authors: Slade P. D. , Russell G. F. M.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Patients suffering from anorexia nervosa usually exhibit extreme concern over their physical size and weight. This tendency, noted by many observers, has been variously interpreted. However, few experimental studies of this phenomenon have been reported. In the present paper an objective technique for determining bodily perception is described, together with a series of studies involving investigation of bodily perception in anorexia nervosa. In the first study a group of anorexia nervosa patients was compared with a group of normal female controls, results showing that, unlike the controls, the patients exhibited marked overestimation of the width of their own body. Moreover, this tendency was found not to extend to perception of physical objects. The results of a second study showed that the overestimation of body width was less marked when the patients were required to gauge the size of a female model. In addition, they were found to be remarkably accurate in assessing physical height, both of themselves and of the model. A third study explored the effects of refeeding on the patients' tendency to see themselves as abnormally wide (and fat). The findings showed that this tendency decreased as patients put on weight. Moreover, the degree of overestimation of body width exhibited by patients was found to bear a relationship to their progress after discharge from hospital: when this persisted after weight gain, a subsequent relapse was more likely.
Unemployment and risk of minor psychiatric disorder in young people: cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence
Authors: Banks M. H. , Jackson P. R.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Two age cohorts of young people were interviewed at times up to 2½ years after leaving school to investigate the association between unemployment and risk of minor psychiatric morbidity, as assessed by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), taking into account differences due to sex, ethnic group and educational qualifications. Cross-sectional data are presented on 2767 interviews. The psychometric properties of the GHQ justified the use of a total score. Although females had a higher risk of psychiatric morbidity, the strongest association was between unemployment and GHQ. The association between unemployment and GHQ scores was shown to be present after controlling for sex, ethnic group and educational qualification differences. Longitudinal analyses showed that the experience of unemployment was more likely to create increased symptoms, rather than the reverse.
Minor psychiatric morbidity and the threat of redundancy in a professional group
Authors: Jenkins Rachel , MacDonald Alastair , Murray Joanna , Strathdee Geraldine
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

After the journalists of a national newspaper had been issued with redundancy notices, a prospective study was carried Out to examine the effect of the threat of their redundancy on minor psychiatric morbidity. Following the subsequent withdrawal of redundancy notices, there was considerable reduction in minor symptomatology, and the implications of this are discussed.
Psychotropic drug use in Northern Ireland 1966–80: prescribing trends, inter- and intra-regional comparisons and relationship to demographic and socioeconomic variables
Authors: King David J. , Griffiths Kathryn , Reilly Phillip M. , Merrett J. Desmond
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A study of psychotropic drug prescribing, derived from the computerized pricing data in Northern Ireland from 1966, showed that the use of these drugs reached a peak in 1975, when about 12·5% of the adult population were estimated to have been receiving them, and declined in the following 5 years. Benzodioazepines accounted for three-quarters of all psychotropic drugs prescribed in 1980. Benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was consistently 20–30% higher than in the rest of the United Kindom, in contrast to hypnotic and antidepressant prescribing which has been consistently lower. The rate of increase in benzodiazepine tranquillizer prescribing was greater than in other European countries, but the level remains lower than in Iceland and Denmark. The influence of a number of demographic and socioeconomic variables was studied in an intra-regional analysis of the 1978 data for the 17 health districts in the province, using multivariate and multiple regression statistics. The prescribing of benzodiazepine hypnotics was almost entirely accounted for by the proportion of elderly (over 65 years) and women aged 45–59 years; neuroleptic prescribing was largely a function of factors associated with rural areas (overcrowding and unemployment) and the proportion of elderly; but neither tranquillizer, antidepressant, barbiturate hypnotic nor psychostimulant prescribing were satisfactorily explained by these variables.
The Disability Assessment Schedule: a brief screening device for use with the mentally retarded
Authors: Holmes Nan , Shah Amitta , Wing Lorna
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Various types of reliability measures were conducted on the Disability Assessment Schedule, a structured interview devised to elicit from parents or care staff details of impairments, skills and behaviour problems in mentally retarded children and adults. The results indicated high overall agreement when the schedule was repeated over time, and also when used by several trained interviewers to rate the same interview. Problems arising from the use of such interview schedules are discussed, and suggestions are made for improving the design and method of administration.
The development of a self-report questionnaire to identify social problems — a pilot study
Authors: Corney Roslyn H. , Clare Anthony W. , Fry John
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The construction of a short self-report questionnaire identifying social problems, difficulties and dissatisfactions is described. The questionnaire covers housing, occupation, finance, social and leisure activities, child—parent and marital relationships, relationships with relatives, friends, neighbours and workmates, and legal problems. Results of a preliminary testing in a general practice are provided and discussed, and plans for a more comprehensive assessment are outlined.
Changes on recovery in the concentrations of tryptophan and the biogenic amine metabolites in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with affective illness
Authors: Ashcroft G. W. , Blackburn Ivy M. , Eccleston D. , Glen A. I. M. , Hartley W. , Kinloch Nancy E. , Lonergan Mary , Murray L. G. , Pullar I. A.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

The concentration of the acid metabolites of dopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) respectively, were estimated in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients suffering from either unipolar or bipolar affective illness, both before and after recovery. Significantly low concentrations of HVA and 5-HIAA (P<0·01 and 0·05 respectively) were found in the unipolar depressed group and these did not return to normal on recovery. Depressed bipolar patients had levels within normal limits. In bipolar manic patients the HVA concentration fell on recovery to a level significantly lower (P<0·05) than controls. There was no difference in the levels of tryptophan in the CSF of any of the groups of patients nor was there any alteration on recovery. There was a high correlation between 5-HIAA and HVA in the same CSF. These findings are against the amine hypothesis which postulated in depression a lowered concentration of transmitter amine at synaptic junction.
Anxiety and the heart – a historical review
Authors: Skerritt Paul W.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A review is presented of literature describing cardiovascular manifestations of anxiety until the end of the second World War. Clear observations of this important group of somatic anxiety symptoms have been made throughout history, although then, as now, the interpretation of these observations has varied according to the point of view and orientation of the writer. An understanding of the interrelationships between somatic and psychic symptoms of anxiety is particularly necessary now that certain specific symptomatic treatments are available.
Immunoglobulin allotypes Gm and Km in chronic schizophrenia: no apparent association
Authors: Propert David N.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The distribution of the immunoglobulin allotypic markers G1m(1), G1m(2), G1m(3), G3m(5) and Km(1) was determined in 168 hospitalized Caucasian chronic schizophrenic patients and compared with that in healthy controls. No association between Gm or Km phenotypes and chronic schizophrenia is apparent.
Neuroticism and well-being inventories: measuring traits or states?
Authors: Ormel J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Inventories designed to measure neuroticism are similar in form and content to inventories used to measure symptoms or subjective well-being. In addition, it is not clear to what extent traits as well as a person's present state explain the variance of such measures. Three inventories – the Neuroticism Scale from Wilde's Amsterdamse Biografische Vragenlijst, Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale and a Symptom Measure – were administered three times in order to study their reliability, stability and relation with psychosocial stress and life events. Major differences between inventories were not found. The results favoured the trait position.
A self-report scale predictive of drug compliance in schizophrenics: reliability and discriminative validity
Authors: Hogan Thomas P. , Awad A. G. , Eastwood Robin
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

Schizophrenic patients' self-reports of their experience of neuroleptic treatment were used as the basis for the construction of a scale predictive of drug compliance. Reliability analysis of the responses of 150 patients indicated high internal consistency in the 30-item scale, and preliminary validation in the form of discriminant classification accurately assigned 89% of the sample to compliant and non-compliant groupings. Both discriminant and factor analyses suggest that maximum variability in responding is accounted for by items reflecting how the patient feels on medication, rather than what he knows or believes about medication.
Medical students' attitudes to psychiatry
Authors: Wilkinson D. G. , Greeer S. , Toone B. K.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

A questionnaire was developed to elicit medical students' attitudes to psychiatry. All 94 second year clinical students at a London teaching hospital completed the instrument before and after an 8-week psychiatric clerkship. Although two-thirds of the sample had mixed feelings about psychiatry initially, by the end of the clerkship the students' general attitude to psychiatry had changed significantly in a favourable direction. Analysis of 18 specific attitudes to psychiatry revealed that the students' first responses showed anticipatory bias and lack of uniformity. Later, however, only two specific attitudes had changed significantly: more students agreed that ‘problems presented by psychiatric patients are often particularly interesting and challenging’, and more of them disagreed with the statement that ‘psychiatric patients, generally speaking, are not easy to like’. The sexes differed on one attitude; more males than females agreed that “psychiatry is too inexact; it seems to lack a proper scientific basis”. Finally, the proportion of students who considered the possibility of specializing in psychiatry rose from 6 to 17% during the clerkship. The students' reasons for or against such a career are discussed.
Validity of the General Health Questionnaire in a Yugoslav student population
Authors: Radovanović Z. , Erić L. J.
Published: July 2009

Synopsis

The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was shown to be a valid instrument for the screening of psychological impairment in a defined population of Yugoslav students. Optimal indices of validity were obtained by the use of the 60-item version of the GHQ and a cut-off score of 13/14. The product-moment correlation coefficients between clinical ratings of severity of mental impairment and GHQ scores ranged from 0·71 to 0·78.
Functional visual loss: I. A true psuchiatric disorder?
Authors: Kathol Roger G. , Cox Terry A. , Corbett James J. , Thompson H. Stanley , Clancy John
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

A review of the literature describing patients with functional visual loss reveals that a significant proportion of them do not manifest psychiatric disease as defined by current nomenclature. Apparently, these individuals are highly suggestible and do not necessarily have psychological pathology. The ramifications of this finding are discussed.
Psychosocial factors and obstetric complications
Authors: Chalmers B.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

A number of studies have attempted to explain obstetric difficulties on the basis of psychosocial conditions which exist during pregnancy. In addition, recent research in the field of life event stress has indicated that life experiences occurring prior to a pregnancy may influence pregnancy outcome. The present study examines the ability of life event stress as well as a variety of medical, social and psychological variables to predict complications of pregnancy. In contrast to previous small-sample research, the present study examines 782 subjects. Multivariate statistical techniques are employed to analyse the numerous variables measured. Results suggest that ‘age at birth of first child’, ‘education level’, ‘menstrual history’, ‘attitudes to pregnancy’ and ‘age at menstruation’ best predict obstetric difficulties. However, only a small percentage of the variance of pregnancy complication scores is explained by these factors.
The factor structure of the GHQ: a scaled version for a hopital's general practice service in Mexico
Authors: Medina-Mora M. E. , Padilla G. P. , Campillo-Serrano C. , Mas C. C. , Ezbán M. , Caraveo J. , Corona J.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

This paper reports the factor structure of the symptoms comprising the GHQ when it is administered in the general practiāe service of a hospital. Two shorter versions are proposed: one with 6 scales and 30 items, and the other with 4 scales and 28 items. The latter is compared with the 28-item English version. Preliminary data concerning the validity of the scales are presented. In a comparison of the screening potentiality of the 60- and 28-item versions, no significant differences were found.
Dimensions of experience
Authors: Miller P. McC. , Ingham J. G.
Published: July 2009

SYNOPSIS

Life-event data for a 3-month period were collected for 1058 adults. Six ways of categorizing life events and difficulties were analysed: namely, loss (L), threat (T), anti-social act (A), hopeless situation (H), uncertainty of outcome (U), and choice of action (C). Reliabilities were moderate to good. The number and the pattern of characteristics within a single event or difficulty were found to be the most important elements in predicting a depression score criterion. Two patterns were particularly predictive: CH present in an event or difficulty, and LH present with U absent. Approximately 21·9% of the depression score variance maybe explained using life events together with the respondent's social class, sex and social support. This represents a significant improvement over prediction based solely on the scoring methods of Brown & Harris (1978).