Amantadine is used as an effective compound in a variety of psychiatric disorders, though its clinically relevant pharmacodynamic properties are still unclear. In this study the influence of amantadine on obsessive-compulsive symptoms and attention deficits in patients with OCD (n=12) was investigated in a placebo-controlled trial using visual event-related brain potentials before and after 8 weeks of treatment. The stimulus material consisted of letters H and O with two varying sizes (larger ones as targets requiring response by pressing buttons, smaller ones as non-targets) in a go/nogo paradigm. Neural generators of the brain activity were estimated by computing the cortical distribution of current density with the LORETA algorithm. Statistical comparison for the target P3b (460–680ms) using the „statistical non-parametric mapping“ option for activity revealed significant lower localized brain activations of the cingulate gyrus within the amantadine group after treatment (p<0.05; BA 31) but not within the placebo group (p=0.61). Moreover, the reduction of the parietal P3b correlates with a decrease of obsessive symptoms in the amantadine group (r=0.82, p<0.05). Regarding to the deficits in high-order cognitive processes associated with OCD it has been hypothesized that hyperactive corticostriatal circuits constitute the underlying pathophysiology. Our findings suggest that amantadine could reduce this hyperactivation whereas the detailed mechanism remains to be discussed.

OBJECTIVE:The imagination of being transformed into an animal or being an animal is called lycanthropy. The phenomenon is presented and psychodynamical aspects are discussed.METHOD:A literature review forms the base of this discussion of a psychopathological phenomenon.RESULTS:The lycanthropic symptomatology represents a spectrum of continuity of developmental and culture-dependent normal behaviour via partial forms to the complete picture of lycanthropy. It is observed in different mental disorders.CONCLUSION:Lycanthropy is interpreted by the authors as a delusion in the sense of the self-identity disorder defined by Scharfetter. It is mainly found in affective and schizophrenic disorders but can be a symptom of other psychiatric disorders as well. Psychodynamically this kind of delusion can be interpreted as an attempt to project suppressed affects, especially with aggressive or sexual content, into the figure of an animal. Psychotherapy and/or neuroleptic medication can be effective.

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Selective attention processes (N2 and P3 components of event-related potentials (ERPs)) have been shown to be impaired in depressed patients but findings have been mixed. Part of this variability might be explained by neurobiological factors. ERPs (Go/Nogo paradigm) were investigated in patients with remitted major depression in relation to S100B. S100B, an astroglial protein with neuroplastic properties, has been shown to be increased in depression. Its pathophysiologic role in depression, however, is not yet sufficiently understood. Patients with increased S100B serum levels (n=6) showed a normal N2- and P3-amplitude in contrast to a reduced N2- and P3-amplitude in patients with normal S100B serum levels (n=6). These findings provide evidence of a correlation between S100B levels and attentional processes in patients with recurrent depression and further substantiate S100B's role as a marker in the course of affective disorders.

The therapeutic value of anticonvulsants in affective and schizoaffective disorders was documented in several clinical trials. Oxcarbazepine (OXC), a keto-derivative of carbamazepine, which appears to have a preferable side effect profile compared to carbamazepine, has also shown antimanic efficacy in affective and schizoaffective disorders in clinical studies since the early 80's, but was not further investigated regarding these indications. Therefore, the value of OXC in the treatment of affective and schizoaffective disorders requires evaluation. Literature was reviewed with regard to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of OXC, drug-drug interactions relevant in pharmacopsychiatry, and clinical effects in these disorders. According to the literature OXC is regarded effective in acute mania and appears to allow reduction of the neuroleptic medication required for the treatment of affective and schizoaffective disorders. In addition, it has a preferable pharmacokinetic profile with less severe side effects compared to other anticonvulsants and neuroleptics. Furthermore, it appears to be well tolerated if augmented to neuroleptics or antidepressants, since OXC does not interact substantially with the cytochrome P450-enzyme-system. However, despite promising effects of OXC, few clinical studies have been published in the last 16 years. We conclude that further studies should validate the antimanic efficacy of OXC and evaluate possible pharmacopsychiatric indications as well as limitations of this psychotropic compound.

Animal models provide unique opportunities to explore interactions between host and environment. Two models have been established based on Bornavirus infection that provide new insights into mechanisms by which neurotropic agents and/or immune factors may impact developing or mature CNS circuitry to effect complex disturbances in movement and behavior. Distinct losses in DA pathways in the adult infection model, and the associated dramatic movement disorder that accompanies it, make it an intriguing model for tardive dyskinesia and dystonic syndromes. The neuropathologic, physiologic, and neurobehavioral features of BDV infection of neonates indicate that it not only provides a useful model for exploring the mechanisms by which viral and immune factors may damage developing neurocircuitry, but also has significant links to the range of biologic, neurostructural, locomotor, cognitive, and social deficits observed in serious neuropsychiatric illnesses such as autism.

In recent years, immigration rates have increased dramatically among the most highly skilled workers. How does this inflow affect labor market outcomes among highly skilled native-born workers? I estimate a labor market equilibrium model in which individuals adjust to skilled immigration by changing occupations and investing in human capital differently. I also estimate the demand functions for native and immigrant workers and find that skilled immigrants and natives are imperfect substitutes in some occupations but are complements in others. Counterfactual exercises indicate that even large inflows of foreign skilled workers have limited impacts on domestic workers. In particular, the skill rental rates for native science and engineering workers would have been approximately 2% higher if firms were not able to hire more foreigners than they did in 1994. On the other hand, had the U.S. workers been constrained to remain in their original occupations, the adverse impacts of foreign labor competition would be more severe. When natives' occupational choices respond to immigration, the negative effects are diffused.

We report on the successful treatment of two Female patients with the clinical features of severe confusional psychosis. The clinical picture of these cases was characterized by lability of mood, disorientation, delusions, hallucinations, misidentification of persons, severe thought disorder and impaired memory. A 55-year old female inpatient suffered from a psychotic episode with the clinical features of confusional psychosis. Medical history showed three proceeding confusional psychotic episodes. In the second case a 32-year old female inpatient suffered from a severe postpartum psychosis with the clinical features of confusional psychosis. In this case there was no clinical history of psychotic episodes. After nonresponsive treatment with neuroleptics and mood-stabilizers, both responded rapidly to additional medication with clomethiazole within a week, exhibiting a marked reduction in clinical signs and symptoms. A brief review about this delirium-like psychosis and current knowledge of therapeutic strategies is presented. We discuss clomethiazole as a possible potential adjunct in the treatment of confusional psychoses.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been related to altered mechanisms of action monitoring and target detection, and it has been hypothesized that hyperactive striatal-cortical circuits constitute the underlying pathophysiology. This study used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to explore this hypothesis. A choice reaction time experiment was carried out in a group of OCD patients and a normal comparison group. The P3b component of the ERP to targets was taken as an indicator of the target-evaluation process and the response-locked error-related negativity (ERN) served as an indicator of action monitoring. We hypothesized that the OCD group would show a shortened P3b latency and an amplitude-enhanced ERN. Consistent with our expectations, the P3b latency was shorter and the ERN amplitude was higher in the OCD group. Unexpectedly, we also observed a prolonged ERN latency in the OCD group and a more posterior topography of this component. The data provide partial support for the hypothesis of a hyperactive neural network in OCD. In addition the disorder must involve pathophysiological processes that are presumably related to other aspects of its complex and heterogeneous clinical hallmarks.

The aim of this study was to delineate the influence of the emotional content of stimuli to be remembered on the recognition performance of normal subjects by means of the event-related potential (ERP) technique. When words are presented repeatedly, brain responses to repeated and recognized items are characterized by a more positive waveform, referred to as "old/new effect". Words judged for their emotional connotation ("negative", "positive" and "neutral") were presented successively on a video monitor to subjects, who had the task to indicate whether a given word occurred for the first ("new") or second ("old") time within the list by pressing one of two buttons. For each word category, the ERPs of the old words were more positive compared to those of the new items from about 250 ms after stimulus. The old/new effect was significantly enhanced for the negative and positive items compared to the neutral stimuli between 450 and 650 ms after stimulus pointing to a significant influence of the emotional content of words on verbal memory processes. This paradigm appears to be feasible to investigate interactions of emotion and cognition in psychiatric patients.

Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurological disorder with dyskinetic choreatiform movements, disturbance of behavior and dementia. The diagnosis of HD is verified by moleculargenetic analysis. Clinical symptoms are similar to Choreoacanthocytosis, (CA). CA is a rare, progressive multisystem, neurological disease which is associated with acanthocytosis of the peripheral blood. The diagnosis of CA can be made after the exclusion of other neurological diseases if the clinical features are typical and if there is an increased number of acanthocytes in a special blood test. Both disorders are associated with a degeneration of the caudate nucleus. We report on a 66-year old female patient suffering from Huntingtons disease with typical clinical symptoms and moleculargenetic markers. Acanthocytes were observed in the peripheral blood. We conclude that the blood test is not specific for CA. It should only be considered as a supplementary information in the diagnostic process. Our findings contrast earlier literature reports.

Depressive patients show deficits in memory functions. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Experiments with a special emphasis on the link between emotion and cognition appear challenging. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of the emotional content of words on memory in non-medicated depressive patients (n=11) compared with a control group (n=11) utilizing event-related brain potentials (ERPs). In a continuous word recognition paradigm brain responses to repeated items are characterized by more positive waveforms of ERPs. This recognition effect (‘old/new effect’) has been shown to be sensitive to parameters relevant for memory processing. For the purpose of this ERP experiment visually presented words were classified into three different categories of emotional content. The ERPs for the correctly detected ‘old’ (repeated) words showed an increased positivity beginning approximately 250 ms post-stimulus, concurring with a good recognition performance. In addition, old/new effect and behavioral data were sensitive to words’ different emotional connotations in the control group. In contrast, the depressive patients performed worse and showed no significant old/new effect. Nevertheless, their recognition performance was also enhanced by the emotional content. Furthermore, a differential effect of the emotional content on frontal ERPs was found between groups. In contrast to the control group, a reduced old/new effect indicates a reduced working memory capacity in the moderately depressed patients. This is suggested to be partially due to changes of the emotion/cognition coupling related to ruminations with preferably negative emotional connotation. However, the emotional content also affects recognition performance in the depressive patients.

As a consequence of reflections about the relevance of remembering and forgetting in psychiatric disorders, aspects of the psychopathology of the dimension of time in phenomenological psychiatry are represented. From the perspectives of research on consciousness, cognition and neurobiology of the temporal lobes with special emphasis on memory processes, the impact of time in depressive illness is investigated. Based on Freud's concept of "Todestrieb" (death-instinct) and "Nirvana-Prinzip" (nirvana-principle) with regard to the possible impact on a theory of forgetting based on Michael Theunissens time-philosophical concept, which demonstrates coping of "dominance of time" i.e. intrusion of the past into the presence and the failure of these coping-processes in depressive patients - it is hypothesized, that "nirvana-energy" is a major constituent of processes for forgetting.

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