Welcome to the International Journal of Neuropsychiatric Medicine

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

Eric Hollander, MD

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...

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

Dana D. Wise, PhD, Angela Felker, MA, and Stephen M. Stahl, MD, PhD

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...

The Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex in Mood Disorders

Wayne C. Drevets, MD, and Jonathan Savitz, PhD Introduction by Michael Trimble, MD, FRCP, FRPsych

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...