The present paper is aimed at providing an outline of the process of reconceptualization of cognitive functions and emotions in neuropsychology, recently promoted by the acknowledgment of complex, nonlinear dynamics in brain structure and function.

In this article, data are presented from Parts A and B of the Trail Making Test, which examined the effects of haloperidol vs risperidone on cognitive function in treatment-resistant scxhizophrenic patients. This report focuses on findings from the Trail Making Test. Overall, risperidone had a positive effect on Trail Making Part B performance following 4 weeks of treatment. These effects were due, at least in part, to the direct effects of risperidone. The possibility that an antipsychotic agent can enhance executive functioning through direct mechanisms, perhaps mediated by frontal cortex neurochemistry, indicates that the evaluation of antipsychotic medications in the treatment of schizophrenia should be expanded to include cognition.

The authors retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients seen by the Psychiatric Consultation Service at their institution between January 1, 1989 to December 31, 1992. A total of 94 patients were evaluated for competency (study group). These were compared with 88 diagnostically matched patients (control group) who were assessed for reasons other than competency during the same time period. Patients in the study group were more likely to be black, less likely to be prescribed psychotropics, and more likely to be consulted upon later on during the course of their hospitalization. Among patients assessed for competency (study group) those patients judged to be incompetent were more likely to be older, have organic mental disorders (OMD), be prescribed psychotropics, and have longer hospital stays. Amongst patients in the study group, geriatric patients (> 60) when compared with nongeriatric patients were more likely to be female, Caucasian, and have OMD and multiple medical illnesses.

The risk of psychopathology is greater in persons with epilepsy than it is in the general population. This increased risk is related to a variety of factors including neurobiologic differences associated with epilepsy, medication-related effects, and disease-related psychosocial factors. Choice of appropriate psychoactive therapy must take into consideration effects on seizure threshold and potential interactions with antiepileptic drugs. Identification of psychopathology and effective treatment can reduce unnecessary morbidity in patients already suffering from a chronic disorder.

In this article, we report a unique case of catatonic syndrome in an adolescent male. This patient did not have a primary psychiatric diagnosis before the onset of catatonia, and there was no evidence of any predisposing medical conditions. The episode occurred following the patient's immigration from his native country, an event associated with particular psychological stress. The episode was reversible and demonstrated a prompt but transient response to intravenous administration of lorazepam. Maintenance treatment included oral administration of lorazepam and risperidone. Lorazepam was tapered and eventually discontinued, and symptoms did not recur.

Kindling involves repeated administration of brief high-frequency electrophysiological stimulation of the brain at initially subthreshold intensities that eventually evoke full-blown seizures. It has thus been used not only as a model of epileptogenesis, but of long-term neuronal memory. Quenching is a phenomenon that utilizes low-frequency stimulation for much longer periods of time (eg, 1 Hz for 15 minutes), and appears to exert preventive effects on the development of kindling and inhibit the manifestation of full-blown kindled seizures by markedly increasing the amygdala afterdischarge and seizure threshold. (See also “Kindling and Quenching: Conceptual Implications for rTMS,” by Weiss and Post, page 32). The parameters of kindling and quenching with intracerebral stimulation of the amygdala in vivo are highly similar to those achieved in vitro in hippocampai slice preparations for inducing long-term potentiation (LTP) and longterm depression (LTD), respectively. These neuroplastic changes are relatively long lasting and appear reversible at the level of synaptic function with either LTD or LTP capable of countering the effects of the other.

In the field of personality, the application of neuroscientific techniques is faced with a clinical category that is still unsatisfactory. The adoption of a coevolutionist, perspective-associated, multidimensional construct is a suggested way to improve clinical models to match the sophisticated techniques of neuroscience.

The convergence of obsessive and schizophrenic symptoms, particularly the blending of obsessional and delusional features into complex symptoms, calls for a clarification of the relationship between obsessions and delusions, which are usually thought of as separate and distinct, even opposite entities. This brief review is a preliminary attempt to assess some of the difficult issues raised by these phenomena.

We evaluate obsessions and delusions, and how they may overlap. A patient's degree of insight has been deemed a determining factor in distinguishing between these primary symptoms. However, our review of the literature shows that a definite distinction between obsessions and delusions cannot be made solely on the basis of insight.

A consensus conference on the reasons for the undertreatment of depression was organized by the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (NDMDA) on January 17–18,1996. The target audience included health policymakers, clinicians, patients and their families, and the public at large. Six key questions were addressed: (1) Is depression undertreated in the community and in the clinic? (2) What is the economic cost to society of depression? (3) What have been the efforts in the past to redress undertreatment and how successful have they been? (4) What are the reasons for the gap between our knowledge of the diagnosis and treatment of depression and actual treatment received in this country? (5) What can we do to narrow this gap? (6) What can we do immediately to narrow this gap?