From time to time every psychiatrist comes across patients whose problems are at least in part related to the neuropsychiatric consequences (behavioral, cognitive, and emotional) of traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBI affects approximately 2 of every 1000 persons per year. Those who are vulnerable to mental illness (eg, persons with alcohol abuse or antisocial personality disorder) are particularly at risk. Patients with TBI often have poor insight and may need hospitalization for their own... More »
Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative illness in the United States, affecting more than 1 million persons. Disease onset is usually after age 50. In persons older than 70 years, the prevalence is 1.5% to 2.5%.1 While the primary pathology involves degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, circuits important in emotion and cognition—such as the serotonergic, adrenergic, cholinergic, and frontal dopaminergic pathways—are also variably disrupted. More »
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.1 More »
As the debate continues regarding possible revisions for the DSM-IV, 1 we recommend renewed attention to the designation Borderline Intellectual Functioning. This condition is listed as a V code in the DSM-IV and is defined as an IQ falling between 71 and 84. It is considered one of several “conditions that may be the focus of clinical attention.” As such, Borderline Intellectual Functioning is rarely included in clinical reports and case/treatment team reviews except indirectly when, as part... More »
Award ceremonies abound, from the Oscars for film to the Clio awards for advertising, but none are as important to mental health and psychiatry as the NARSAD annual awards. NARSAD is a unique organization that is dedicated to mental health research, and the NARSAD awards are considered to be the most prestigious prizes in psychiatric research. On October 30, NARSAD presented its 22nd annual awards for outstanding achievement in mental health research. This year the prizes went to 8 distinguished... More »
Psychosurgery. For some, the word connotes all the promising therapeutic applications of modern neuroscience; for others, it connotes all the baneful excesses of unregulated pseudoscience. More »
Synecdoche, New York, screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut, was greeted with Best Film of the Year from critics and catcalls from moviegoers. It is a film that only someone like Psychiatric Times’ Editor in Chief, Dr Ron Pies, could fully understand (ie, a psychiatrist who knows about arcane neuroscience and literature). The problems start with the title. Most people have no idea what “synecdoche” means or how to pronounce it. Looking it up is not much help. The Oxford English... More »
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. More »
