Welcome to the International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine

CNS Spectrums is a monthly Index Medicus/MEDLINE journal designed to bridge the clinical information needs of 50,000 psychiatrists and neurologists. Introduced in 1996, CNS Spectrums reaches more physicians than any other peer-reviewed neuropsychiatric journal in the world. In addition, the 2007 ISI Journal Citation Reports’ Impact Factor for CNS Spectrums is 2.746 for Clinical Neurology  and 3.409 for Psychiatry. The Impact Factor is based on a total of 1,179 citations. This ranking places CNS Spectrums in the top half of all Psychiatry and Neurology journals included in the study.

 

 

 

CNS Spectrums’ editorial mission is to address relevant neuropsychiatric topics, including the prevalence of comorbid diseases among patients, and original research and reports that emphasize the profound diagnostic and physiologic connections made within the neurologic and psychiatric fields. The journal’s goal is to serve as a resource to psychiatrists and neurologists seeking to understand and treat disturbances of cognition, emotion, and behavior as a direct consequence of central nervous system disease, illness, or trauma.



Editor's Letter

Parkinson’s Disease, Tourette Syndrome, and the Changing Nature of Depression: The Dog Days of Summer

This month’s issue describes medication-related side effects (compulsivity and impulsivity) that can have important implication’s for understanding symptom classification and the neurobiology of disease (behavioral addictions); assesses subtypes of illness (tic-related OCD) with distinct presentations; highlights changes in our understanding of illnesses such as depression over time (drug-nonresponsive sadness), and describes unusual cases with NMDA receptor encephalitis with highly specific treatment response (immunomodulatory treatment).  more...

 
Trends in Psychopharmacology

Tailoring Treatment of Depression for Women Across the Reproductive Lifecycle: The Importance of Pregnancy, Vasomotor Symptoms, and Other Estrogen-Related Events in Psychopharmacology

Compared with men, women are at increased risk of depression, especially at several reproductive-related lifecycle points. This may be partially due to changing levels of estrogen, a hormone that can affect levels of neurotransmitters and neural proteins. As estrogen levels vary throughout the lifespan, risk of depression in women also varies, and not all treatments are appropriate or effective at all times. In adolescence, onset of depression may be associated with onset of puberty, but treating underage girls with antidepressants can risk suicidality. In females of childbearing age, mood disturbances associated with menstrual cycles signal a risk for later full-blown major depressive disorder.  more...

 
Brain Regions of Interest

The Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Mood Disorders

In the latest edition of our series of neuroanatomical areas of importance for neuropsychiatry, Wayne Drevets, MD, and Jonathan Savitz, PhD, have outlined the clinical importance of the ventral anterior cingulate structures for the regulation of mood. This area was an early target for interventional neurosurgery for depression some half a century ago, and today has become one of the key sites of deep brain stimulation for affective disorders.  more...