Throughout history, auditory hallucinations have been construed as evidence of communication with divine powers, although contemporary medical models often view them as undesirable and a sign of mental illness. In psychiatry, auditory hallucinations carry considerable weight in the diagnostic process, so there is a clear need for clinicians to have a greater understanding of the multiple facets of this phenomenon.

When discussing the concept of cognitive impairment, many terms are used, including dementia, amnestic disorder, cognitive impairment not dementia (CIND), cognitive impairment associated with normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, vascular cognitive impairment, and vascular cognitive impairment not dementia (VCIND). Although definitions of such terms are clinically important, there is significant uncertainty about associating a given cognitive syndrome with specific neuropathology.

Efficacy variations among the atypical and typical antipsychotics result in overlaps between the 2 groups.1 Adverse-effect profiles differ as well. In general, typical antipsychotics have a greater propensity to cause extrapyramidal side effects, tardive dyskinesia, and prolactin elevations than do atypical anti-psychotics. The adverse effects associated with some atypical antipsychotics are more weight gain and greater disturbances in lipid and glucose regulation than are associated with typical antipsychotics. However, there is considerable heterogeneity among the individual agents in both classes and overlapping adverse effects.

Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) is a serious psychiatric illness that impairs children’s emotional, cognitive, and social development. PBD causes severe mood instability that manifests in chronic irritability, episodes of rage, tearfulness, distractibility, grandiosity or inflated self-esteem, hypersexual behavior, a decreased need for sleep, and behavioral activation coupled with poor judgment. While research in this area has accelerated during the past 15 years, there are still significant gaps in knowledge concerning the prevalence, etiology, phenomenology, assessment, and treatment for PBD.

In 1944, Hans Asperger published a description of 4 boys who had major social problems despite adequate cognitive and verbal skills.1 His original term for the condition was Autistischen Psychopathen im Kindesalter, usually translated as autistic psychopathy or autistic personality disorder in childhood. His use of the term “autistic” occurred a year after Leo Kanner’s classic description of the syndrome of early infantile autism but, because of the war, Asperger was likely unaware of Kanner’s paper.2

Every year one-third of the adults in the United States use 1 or more complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities to treat a medical or psychiatric problem.1 It is estimated that 1 in 10 adults see CAM practitioners, and he or she does so primarily for a mental health problem.2 A large population survey found that receiving a diagnosis of a mood disorder is a strong predictor of CAM use.3 Another survey found that persons with major depressive disorder were significantly more likely to use CAM therapies than nondepressed persons.4 Almost two-thirds of psychiatrically hospitalized patients use at least 1 CAM modality before being hospitalized, and the majority self-treat depressed mood while failing to disclose CAM use to their psychiatrist or primary physician.5

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neuro­sensory disorder first described by Sir Thomas Willis in 1672. As early as the 19th century, Theodor Wittmaack1 observed the comorbidity of RLS with depression and anxiety. He termed this condition “anxietas tibiarum” and believed it to be a form of hysteria.

Although the onset of psychotic symptoms before the age of 13 years is exceedingly rare, the incidence of schizophrenia rises sharply after the onset of puberty.1 Only 1% of the population has schizophrenia and 30% of these patients experience an onset of psychotic symptoms by age 18 years.2-8 The period that precedes the onset of frank psychotic symptoms (ie, the prodromal phase) has not been well characterized in early-onset schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (EOSS), but retrospective reports have shown that symptoms include high levels of depression and anxiety, emerging cognitive and social deficits, unusual thought content, and (not infrequently) school failure.

Since the inclusion of the borderline personality disorder (BPD) diagnosis in DSM, there have been multiple efforts to recast the disorder as part of an Axis I illness category.

Alhough depressive and anxiety disorders are classified as distinct groups of illnesses, studies document their frequent co-occurrence and provide evidence of a common biological substrate and a shared vulnerability.1 Comorbid depression and anxiety disorders are most frequently seen in primary care and in the general community, and the prevalence of comorbidity has been estimated to be as high as 10% to 20%.1