Honourable members, learned guests, members of the Indian Psychiatric Society and friends, it is a great privilege that I have been selected to deliver the prestigious Tilak Venkoba Rao Oration. I wish to thank the Indian Psychiatric Society for bestowing this award. I pay my respect to 'Tilak' worthy son of worthy parents Professors Venkoba Rao and Parvathi Devi, in whose memory this oration has been instituted for younger members of the society. I wish to thank my alma mater - King George's Medical College Lucknow and all my teachers who have guided me to become a psychiatrist. This recognition from the scientific community and encouragement from my seniors will spur me to even greater hard work in my research and persuit for that truth which is the Goddess of all scientists.

The draft of the tenth revision of the International Classification Of Diseases, Chapter V (ICD-10) was subjected to extensive field trials throughout the world. In India, Nine Field Trial Centres (PTCs) conducted the field trials. The results showed that the ICD-10 was quite adequate in its face-validity, reliability, applicability and ease of use. A brief account of the field trials and the result are reported.

There are some studies to suggest that the effects of life stress on children and adolescents may be similar to those found in adults. Boyce et al. (1977) demonstrated a relationship between life stress and respiratory tract illness, Bedell et al. (1977) using chronically ill children as subjects, found life stress to be correlated with day to day changes in health status. Padilla et al. (1976) have found life stress to be related to accident frequency in children; Hudgens (1974) demonstrated a relationship between life stress and depression among adolescents. Similarly high number of stressful life events were found associated with enuresis (Douglas 1973) and psychiatric disorders in children (Heisel et al., 1973). More recent studies have been by Goodyer et al. (1985); and Kashani et al. (1981) reporting an association between emotional diaorders in children and undesirable life events.

The study aimed at finding out the relationship of family environment to schizophrenia, affective disorders and neurosis in comparison to control group matched on socio-economic status in a North Indian Sample. 600 subjects-150 schizophrenic patients, 150 patients with affective disorders, 150 neurotics, diagnosed according to ICD-9, were studied. Results (one way ANOVA) revealed that there exists a significant difference in family environment of three categories of patients with psychiatric disorders as well as in comparison to control group. Significantly low scores of cohesiveness, independence, expressiveness, active-recreational orientation and organization, control and moral religious emphasis were found in schizophrenics. Similarly in the families of patients with affective disorders there were less cohesion and control and more expressiveness, conflict, independence and moralrelegious emphasis, while the family of neurotics had low levels of cohesion, intellectual-cultural orientation, active-recreational orientation, organisation and control.

Sexual behaviour of 75 normal married females was studied. Most of them had a healthy attitude to sex. Frequency of sexual activity decreases with age and duration of marriage. Median frequency for 21-30years age was 2/week, for 31- 40years was 1.4/week and for 41-50 years was 0.5/week. Frequency of coitus did not correlate with socio-economic status. Nearly 52% women had more than 50% satisfactory coitus. Sexual satisfaction was significantly associated with economic status and satisfactory marriage. It did not have any correlation with frequency of coitus in women above 30 years of age. Duration of foreplay also did not significantly relate to sexual satisfaction. Touching of breast and clitoris were most preferred foreplay activities for females while for males penile stimulation was preferred activity. 53% of males ejaculte before their wives could have orgasm yet it did not significantly affect sexual satisfaction.

15 familial schizophrenics, 15 sporadic schizophrenics, 15 normal sibs of familial schizophrenic probands, 15 normal sibs of sporadic schizophrenic probands and 15 normal subjects were examined by electro-oculogram (EOG) for the quality of their smooth pursuit eye movements. Results confirm the previous findings of SPEM dysfunction among schizophrenics as a group, but the trait-marker status of SPEM impairment of schizophrenia has been questioned and discussed. It has been suggested that the increased prevalence of impaired pursuit eye movement among sporadic schizophrenics may be due to the environmental factors of specific or non-specific nature. SPEM dysfunction could also be of pathoplastic significance in the manifestation of psychosis.

Negative ion atmospheric loading has been reported to affect a range of psychological functions, from alertness to circadian rhythms, and has been suggested to benefit a variety of medical conditions, from allergies to migraine. In a double-blind study planned to assess the effect of negative ions on cognitive performance in human volunteers, 65 female graduate course students were randomized into ionized atmosphere (n = 34) and control (n = 31) groups. The following cognitive tasks were administered: Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Addition Test, Visual Memory (Complex Figure) Test, Verbal Memeory (Complex Passage) Test, Ideational Fluency Test and Clerical Speed and Accuracy test. On all but the last two tests, the negative ion groupperfonned significantly better (to a 15-40% extent) than controls. It is concluded that negative ionization of the atmosphere by artificial means may be of benefit in certain common, practical situation in which depletion of these ions occurs.

Efficacy of centpropazine, a new antidepressant, has been evaluated in forty two patients of endogenous depression. The 4 week open trial was carried out in a dose-range of 40 to 120mg per day. A significant lowering of Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) score was observed in 34 patient. The antidepressant effect could be detected in 9 patients within one week, in 28 cases in two weeks and in all the 34 patients by third week. Giddiness, headache, dryness of mouth and weakness were reported by 11 patients.

Seventy two subjects with OCD were compared with 18 normal healthy volunteers on multiple neuroendocrine responses to clonidine. Significant heterogeneity in OCD was observed in responses of growth hormone. There was also significant disturbances in Cortisol and ACTH release. An interactional model for noradrenergic and serotonergic dysfunction in OCD is discussed.

In a double blind study, the immunomodulator drug levamisole was administered along with chloropromazine to 18 schizophrenic patients, and efficiency of the combination was compared to that of chloropromazine along with placebo administered to 16 schizophrenic patients. The decrease in T suppressor cell count found in both groups at benchmark was found to be corrected in the patients receiving levamisole and this increase in T suppressor cell count was significantly correlated with the improvement in psychosis. The findings provide evidence in favour of the autoimmune hypothesis of schizophrenia.

Internal autoscopy, a rare special type of visual hallucination, is claimed to have been mainly reported by French psychiatrist who considered it to occur mainly in young female subjects suffering from hysteria. In this report, such a cases is described in a 70 year old male patient suffering from M.D.P. (Depression). Its differential diagnosis and phenomenology is discussed. It is suggested that Internal autoscopy may be cognitive or ideational disturbance, expressed as a perceptual experience.