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Aim: The present study was done to understand the changing trends in substance dependence across decades. Settings and Design: It is a retrospective study done in Department of Psychiatry in a Teaching Hospital setting. The data of patients who attended the OPD for substance dependence during the months January to December in the years 1985 & 1986, 1995 & 1996 and 2005 & 2006 were collected and analysed. Materials and Methods: A total of 839 new patients with substance dependence identified according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD) (n = 839) was analysed in the present report. Study variables taken into account are alcohol dependence, polysubstance dependence which also includes alcohol, age, sex, age of initiation of substance use, duration of use, and comorbidity. Statistical Analysis: Z -test, Chi-square test, mean, percentages, standard deviation. Results: Substance dependence constituted 5.32% in 1985 and 1986, 5.02% in 1995 and 1996, and 4.05% in 2005 and 2006 of the newly registered total psychiatric patients. The variation in incidence figures across the years is statistically not significant ( P > 0.05). Among the substance dependents 2% in 1985 & 1986, 1% in 1995 & 1996 and 1% in 2005 & 2006 were females. Majority of the patients were alcohol dependent (87.2% in 1985 and 1986, 89.4% in 1995 and 1996, and 79.6% in 2005 and 2006). Polysubstance dependence showed an increasing trend and it was statistically significant. Comparison of the years 1985 and 1986 with 2005 and 2006 gives Z = 2.4, P < 0.05 (statistically significant). Comparison of the years 1995 and 1996 with 2005 and 2006 gives Z = 3, P < 0.01 (significant statistically). Number of people getting initiated to substance use in early age ( viz . 10-19 years) showed an increasing trend. People with positive family history of substance dependence started using substances early in life. (Chi-square value: 164.7, P < 0.0001, significant statistically). In polysubstance dependence comorbidity was more ( Z = 4.1, P < 0.001, significant statistically). Conclusions: Incidence of substance dependence remained the same across the two decades. But incidence of polysubstance dependence is increasing over the years. People start using substances earlier and are becoming dependent earlier in their lives in the present decade. Polysubstance dependence is correlated with greater comorbidity. Early recognition of comorbidity and its management is essential for better prognosis. Substance dependence is exclusively a male diagnosis in our population.

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Incidence of farmers ending their lives in Vidarbha region had hit epidemic proportions recently. We adopted the psychological autopsy approach to offer some insight into the reason why these individuals resorted to such a drastic step. Suicide in farmers is public health problem and we suggested some immediate and serious interventions to prevent suicide.

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Background: Adolescence can be a stressful time for children, parents and adults who work with teens. We believe that a scale measuring the events perceived as stressful by an average Indian adolescent is necessary due to the presence of irrelevant items and absence of items related to our culture on foreign scales. Aim: This study was done to adapt and test the validity of a scale measuring stress caused due to life events in an Indian adolescent; to assess clinical value of the instrument in exploring causal relationships between stressful events and behavioral problems; and to compare the degree of overlap in stress-causing events between adolescents and their parents during the same timeframe. Materials and Methods: An adolescent life event stress scale (ALESS) containing 41 items was administered to 156 adolescents for formulation and 102 adolescents for validation. A third set of 112 adolescents was used to compare ALESS scores with child behavior checklist (CBCL) scores and parental stress scores due to life events. Results: The comparison showed a strong positive correlation with CBCL scores with a model fit (r ² = 0.32) and a weak positive correlation with parental stress (Pearson's coefficient = 0.011) due to life events. Conclusion: Thus, a life event scale for adolescents was especially adapted to the Indian conditions.

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This case report deals with 45-year-old male who came for consultation in the psychiatry department for the persisting symptoms, after consulting various departments with no relief. He had episodes of confusion with disorganized behavior, restlessness, and symptoms like talking irrelevantly once a week lasting up to 10-30 min in the preceding six months. Investigations like computerized tomography scan, electroencephalogram were not contributory. While under observation in our ward for evaluation and diagnosis, one such episode with intense sweating and clouding of consciousness was witnessed and helped in clinching the diagnosis of insulinoma. The case is reported for its rarity and as one of the causes of episodic confusional state.

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Creativity and its link with mental health have always been much speculated about. However there have been a handful of methodologically sound studies to clearly establish the relationship between creativity and mental health. The objective of the study therefore was to examine the psychiatric morbidity stress profile, coping skills and personality profile in creative versus non-creative populations. Forty writers, 40 musicians and 40 controls chosen after randomization, who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria constituted the sample of the study. All the subjects were administered GHQ-28; SCAN for all GHQ positives (and 10% of GHQ-ves), Perceived stress scale and coping check list and NEO-FFI. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS 11.0 version. Pearson's correlation, Chi-square and ANOVA one-way tests were used. The present study corroborated the findings of earlier studies in 70's and 80's that there was no difference between creative and non-creative groups in terms of mental illness and stress profile. The writers differed significantly from the other two groups on religious and faith domain of coping skills. The two creative groups had similar personality characteristics and scored significantly high on all dimensions compared to the non-creative group.

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Drug dependence is a major cause of morbidity and loss of productivity. Various theories ranging from economic to psychological have been invoked in an attempt to explain this condition. With the advent of research at the cellular and subcellular levels, perspectives on the etiology of drug dependence have also changed. Perhaps the greatest advance has been in the identification of specific receptors for each of the drugs, their target neurotransmitter systems and the intracellular changes produced by them. These receptors also provide potential targets for treatment strategies of drug dependence. This overview attempts to present the mechanisms in the development of dependence and the newer treatment strategies for the major drugs of abuse like alcohol, opioids, cannabis, nicotine and cocaine.

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Background: A burgeoning clinical and empirical literature has provided incontrovertible evidence that combat operations exact a heavy toll in terms of human suffering not only on combatants but also military support personnel. Though the Indian army is engaged in low intensity conflict (LIC) operations for over five decades, the psychological effects of LIC deployment on soldiers have not been adequately studied. Aims: To evaluate the psychological effects of deployment in LIC operations on service personnel. Methods: Five hundred and sixty-eight servicemen engaged in LIC operations and equal number of age- and rank-matched personnel in adjoining peace areas were evaluated with a self-made questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Carroll Rating Scale for Depression (CRSD), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), Impact of Events Scale (IES), Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), Hindi PEN inventory, Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and Locus Of Control (LOC) scale. Results: Respondents from LIC area had significantly higher scores on CRSD, MAST, GHQ, IES, and general fatigue, physical fatigue, and mental fatigue subscale of the MFI in comparison to those located in other areas. Significantly higher number of respondents from highly active LIC and with more than one-year service in LIC scored above cut-off levels on CRSD, MAST and GHQ. Conclusions: The psychological status of troops was directly related both to the duration of stay and the nature of LIC area.

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The present epidemiological survey was conducted by the department of psychiatry, Govt. Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh to estimate the pattern of alcohol and other substance dependence in rural and slum dwellers population of Chandigarh. In this survey 6.88% individuals of the total population surveyed (2992) fulfilled dependence criteria of ICD-10. Alcohol was the primary substance of dependence for majority of urban slum substance users and rural areas users. Age at first drug use was 20.89 ± 5.31 years (mean ± S.D) among rural population and 19.75 ± 5.4 years (mean ± SD) in urban slums. Majority of them reported having health related complications (85.71%) followed by family problems (77.31%) due to drug dependence. This survey reflects the need to intensify efforts at the community level to reach the unreached.

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The phenomenon of conscious awareness or consciousness is complicated but fascinating. Although this concept has intrigued the mankind since antiquity, exploration of consciousness from scientific perspectives is not very old. Among myriad of theories regarding nature, functions and mechanism of consciousness, off late, cognitive theories have received wider acceptance. One of the most exciting hypotheses in recent times has been the "conscious access hypotheses" based on the "global workspace model of consciousness". It underscores an important property of consciousness, the global access of information in cerebral cortex. Present article reviews the "conscious access hypothesis" in terms of its theoretical underpinnings as well as experimental supports it has received.

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Cognition denotes a relatively high level of processing of specific information including thinking, memory, perception, motivation, skilled movements and language. Cognitive psychology has become an important discipline in the research of a number of psychiatric disorders, ranging from severe psychotic illness such as schizophrenia to relatively benign, yet significantly disabling, non-psychotic illnesses such as somatoform disorder. Research in the area of neurocognition has started unlocking various secrets of psychiatric disorders, such as revealing the biological underpinnings, explaining the underlying psychopathology and issues related to course, outcome and treatment strategies. Such research has also attempted to uproot a number of previously held concepts, such as Kraepelin's dichotomy. Although the range of cognitive problems can be diverse, there are several cognitive domains, including executive function, attention and information processing, and working memory, which appear more frequently at risk. A broad range of impairment across and within the psychiatric disorders are highlighted in this oration. The oration summarizes the studies investigating cognitive processing in different psychiatric disorders. I will also discuss the findings of my own research on neurocognitive deficits in mood disorders, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, somatoform disorder, including studies on 'high-risk' individuals. Tracing the evaluation of neurocognitive science may provide new insights into the pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders.

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Background: Major international studies on course and outcome of schizophrenia suggest a better prognosis in the rural world and in low-income nations. Industrialization is thought to result in increased stigma for mental illness, which in turn is thought to worsen prognosis. The lack of an ethnographically derived and cross-culturally valid measure of stigma has hampered investigation. The present study deploys such a scale and examines stigmatizing attitudes towards the severely mentally ill among rural and urban community dwellers in India. Aim: To test the hypothesis that there are fewer stigmatizing attitudes towards the mentally ill amongst rural compared to urban community dwellers in India. Materials and Methods: An ethnographically derived and vignette-based stigmatization scale was administered to a general community sample comprising two rural and one urban site in India. Responses were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods. Result: Rural Indians showed significantly higher stigma scores, especially those with a manual occupation. The overall pattern of differences between rural and urban samples suggests that the former deploy a punitive model towards the severely mentally ill, while the urban group expressed a liberal view of severe mental illness. Urban Indians showed a strong link between stigma and not wishing to work with a mentally ill individual, whereas no such link existed for rural Indians. Conclusion: This is the first study, using an ethnographically derived stigmatization scale, to report increased stigma amongst a rural Indian population. Findings from this study do not fully support the industrialization hypothesis to explain better outcome of severe mental illness in low-income nations. The lack of a link between stigma and work attitudes may partly explain this phenomenon.

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Background: Chronic and persistent alcohol use is known to induce sexual dysfunction, which leads to marked distress and interpersonal difficulty. Aim: We attempted to assess the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in a clinical sample of subjects with alcohol dependence. Materials and Methods: One hundred male subjects admitted to a deaddiction centre with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence syndrome with simple withdrawal symptoms (F10.30, ICD-10 criteria) were assessed for sexual dysfunction using a sexual dysfunction checklist, constructed using items from the Diagnostic Criteria for Research [ICD-10] for sexual dysfunction. Results: Seventy-two per cent had one or more sexual dysfunction, the most common being premature ejaculation, low sexual desire and erectile dysfunction. The amount of alcohol consumed appeared to be the most significant predictor of developing sexual dysfunction. Conclusion: Sexual dysfunction is common in patients with alcohol dependence. Heavy drinking proportionately increases the risk. Clinicians need to routinely assess sexual functioning in alcoholic patients so that other factors contributing to sexual dysfunction can be ruled out.

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Background: Brahmi (Bacopa monniera) is a traditional Indian medicinal plant which causes multiple effects on the central nervous system. The standardized extract of this plant has shown enhanced behavioural learning in preclinical studies and enhanced information processing in healthy volunteers. Aim: To study the efficacy of standardized Bacopa monniera extract (SBME) in subjects with age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) without any evidence of dementia or psychiatric disorder. Methods: A double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized study design was employed. The subjects received either 125 mg of SBME or placebo twice a day for a period of 12 weeks followed by a placebo period of another 4 weeks (total duration of the trial 16 weeks). Each subject was evaluated for cognition on a battery of tests comprising mental control, logical memory, digit forward, digit backward, visual reproduction and paired associate learning. Results: SBME produced significant improvement on mental control, logical memory and paired associated learning during the 12-week drug therapy. Conclusion: SBME is efficacious in subjects with age-associated memory impairment.

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Background: Out of those who attempted self-harm and survived, many actually wanted to die and many did not. Presently, no distinctive nomenclature exists for these two groups, which causes difficulty in understanding as well as in management and research. Aim To study whether there exist two such groups which are distinct and can be differentiated clinically. Methods: Seventy-eight persons who attempted self-harm were evaluated in detail by a psychiatrist. The data were recorded in an especially designed proforma which documented sociodemographic variables, psychiatric and physical illnesses, psychosocial stress factors, substance abuse, past and family history and details of suicide attempt. Results: Two groups emerged with distinct characteristics. The two groups were different in factors such as age, diagnosis, intentionality, lethality, mode, motive to kill oneself, past/family history, relation to stress, personality traits and precaution to prevent detection before and/or after the act. The group which had persons who really wanted to die but survived is suggested to be named as the 'failed suicide' group and the other group which had persons who did not actually want to die is suggested to be named as the 'deliberate self-harm' group. Conclusion: Those who cause harm to themselves but survive can be distinctly put into two groups: (i) the 'failed suicide' group constituting those who actually wanted to kill themselves and (ii) the 'deliberate self­harm' group constituting those who did not actually want to die. The criteria for distinctions are suggested.

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Background: The correlation between cannabis and negative mental health outcomes has been unequivocally established. Nevertheless, there is still a great need to research different dimensions of cannabis-related disorders, among which the study of cannabis-related psychosis is very important. There is a dearth of research regarding phenomenology and effect of abstinence, particularly from India. This study attempts to research the clinical presentation of cannabis-related psychosis and effect of abstinence. Aim: The aim of the present study was to document the clinical presentation of cannabis-related psychosis at presentation and after 7 days' abstinence from cannabis. Materials and Methods: Subjects with psychosis following cannabis use without any other prior or concurrent psychiatric disorder presenting to the outpatient department of a large tertiary care hospital were consecutively recruited for study. They were observed in a drug-free, protected environment for 7 days, during which clinical features were recorded using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Results: Twenty male subjects were recruited and phenomenology was evaluated on the BPRS. Items with highest frequencies were unusual thought content (100%), excitement (75%), grandiosity (75%), hallucinatory behavior (70%) and uncooperativeness (65%). The least common symptoms were anxiety (5%), guilt feeling (5%), depressive mood (10%), motor retardation (10%) and blunted affect (30%). Nine subjects (45%) presented with cognitive dysfunction. Affective psychosis was the predominant diagnosis. At the end of 1 week of abstinence from cannabis, there was a significant decrease in scores. Significant improvement was observed in cognitive dysfunction, conceptual disorganization, grandiosity, tension, hostility, hallucinatory behavior and excitement. Conclusions: Cannabis-related psychosis presented with a predominantly affective psychosis and prominent thought disorder, excitement and violence. All subjects showed improvement in symptoms with abstinence from cannabis. A small heterogeneous sample and short duration of observation were the important limitations of this study.

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Background: The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) has been increasingly employed as a clinical neuropsychological instrument. However, in India the use of WCST is still in a relatively preliminary stage. Aim: To analyse the utility of WCST in the Indian population. Methods: Fifty-three subjects in the age group of 20-50 years, comprising both men and women, were recruited for the study. The normality was established by administering the General Health Questionnaire as a screening instrument to evaluate their health status. The WCST was administered and the norms for various dimensions were established; these were compared with those of normal healthy individuals from the West as per the WCST manual. Results and conclusion: The significance of differences and the experience of administration have been described. The present study found highly significant differences between the means on almost all WCST scores among the Western and the Indian sample, except for the number of correct responses.

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