The concept of akinesia deserves to be looked at again in the light of recent work on Parkinsonism, particularly those findings which have resulted from the use of L-dopa in Parkinsonian syndromes. Akinesia and bradykinesia are integral parts of such syndromes, at times even constituting their essential element. Akinesia belongs to a group of psychomotor syndromes, the semiology and pathogenesis of which were the subject of numerous discussions at the beginning of this century. As we have pointed out elsewhere, akinesia cannot be defined solely in terms of its own characteristics: it must be understood equally in its paradoxical aspects—‘paradoxical kinesia’ in post-encephalitic Parkinsonism in particular, and ‘paradoxical akinesia’ in Parkinsonian patients treated with L-dopa.

The probenecid technique was used in a study of the central dopamine DA metabolism in patients with depressions, psychotic disorders, and Parkinson's disease. The disturbances found were neither nosologically nor syndromally specific, but appeared to be symptom-specific. Decreased DA turnover was associated with hypomotility, and increased DA turnover with hypermotility. Decreased DA turnover was probably related aetiologically to the hypomotility: the symptoms subsided after replenishment of the DA deficiency. The relation between increased DA turnover and hypermotility is still under investigation. In view of the findings obtained, a plea is made for the development of a functional psychopathology, in which psychiatric syndromes are ‘dissected’ into their constituent psychological dysfunctions. This development is expected to stimulate human brain and behaviour research. It can be achieved only by intensive collaboration between psychiatrists and experimental psychologists.

A study of the neuropathology of the superior olivary nucleus and its relationship to schizophrenia or auditory hallucinations was undertaken. No relationship was found to exist between them, but atrophy of the superior olivary nucleus was found in all the patients who had presented with seizures during life. The aetiology of superior olivary atrophy is discussed.

A comparison was made of the mental state of patients with chronic epilepsy and matched controls with locomotor disorders, using a reliable psychiatric interview technique. The symptom profiles of the two groups were similar. The profiles of temporal lobe and other epileptics were also similar. Epileptic patients with a high current psychiatric morbidity were characterized by a raised incidence of previous neurotic illness and raised neuroticism scores on the Eysenck Personality Inventory.

A double-blind crossover trial was carried out comparing pimozide with fluphenazine. The effects of the drugs on the activity of 20 chronic inert male schizophrenic patients were measured using nursing observations, psychiatric rating, and an operant conditioning method. When activity was assessed in these different ways, no significant difference was found between the two drugs on any of the measures. It is concluded that pimozide does not effectively increase the activity in such patients. It is considered that the free operant conditioning method used was shown to be a useful measure for comparing therapy in chronic schizophrenic patients.

A case of Cushing's syndrome in a woman aged 50 years is described, with psychosis of schizophrenic type. The psychosis and endocrine disorder were subsequently cured by adrenalectomy. Twenty-five years previously the patient had a typical schizophrenic psychosis treated in mental hospital with deep insulin therapy and ECT. The possibility is raised that deep insulin therapy could have induced the Cushing's syndrome through its non-specific stressor effect on the pituitary-adrenal axis.

Cognitive function was evaluated in 11 patients with Huntington's chorea, using eight subtests of the WAIS, and their performance was compared with that previously reported for a normal aged population. The pattern of impairment was similar in the two groups. Tests of immediate memory were given to nine of these patients, and to 10 healthy but aged subjects. In botḥ groups, there was a significant correlation between the performance of individuals in these tests and their IQ, suggesting that the choreic patients had no selective impairment of immediate memory. The clinical and psychological records of the 11 patients revealed no evidence of focal deficits, and the majority of patients were fully orientated and retained insight to their condition. These observations are discussed in relation to the pattern of intellectual impairment seen in other presenile dementias.

An experiment is described in which depressed patients were asked to recall pleasant or unpleasant experiences from their past life in response to a standard series of stimulus words. The ratio between the time for recall of pleasant and unpleasant experiences was found to fall progressively with increasing severity of depression or of ‘neuroticism’ and to be significantly related to each. Among patients who scored relatively low on depression or neuroticism pleasant memories were recalled more speedily than unpleasant; among those who scored high this relationship was reversed. Possible mechanisms to account for these findings are discussed.

A hierarchy of classes of personal illness model is proposed and was assessed using a new self-report measure, the Delusions-Symptoms-States Inventory (DSSI). Of 480 psychiatric patients 93.3% had symptom patterns conforming to the model. It was additionally found that single syndrome patterns, within a particular class, occurred significantly more often in those not classifiable in any higher class. Finally, the relationship between each possible pair of the 12 syndromes was examined. Some of the implications of the model and the data are discussed in terms of the development, remission, assessment, and treatment of personal illness.

A cross-sectional household survey of drinking patterns, categorized as alcoholism, excessive drinking, moderate drinking, and abstinence, was conducted in a middle and lower-class section of Greater Buenos Aires. Alcoholism and excessive drinking were present almost exclusively among males, and were more prevalent among the lower levels of education, occupation, or residential area, and also among migrants. Prevalence rates for males, aged 15 +, were: alcoholics 4.4% ±2.1 and excessive drinkers 12.2% ± 3.4. Details of the methods, the implication of the findings, and comparisons with other surveys are reported and discussed.

The study of tryptophan metabolism using compartmental analysis suggested differences between males and females, and between control subjects and patients with affective illness, patients treated with tricyclic drugs, and those established on lithium therapy. The total mass of tryptophan in the body may be reduced in people prone to affective disorder, and in depressed patients (ill and well) turnover of tryptophan seemed to be reduced. The reduction of concentration of tryptophan in compartment S2 in affective illness could affect protein synthesis.

Plasma levels of chlorpromazine (CPZ) and prolactin were measured repeatedly in 14 psychiatric patients throughout CPZ treatment. Mean prolactin level was elevated in 11 subjects (all six women and five of eight men). Mean plasma prolactin correlated significantly with mean plasma CPZ but not with the dose of the drug. Only patients with mean plasma prolactin above 35 ng/ml developed Parkinsonian side-effects.