Eight hundred psychiatric patients and eight hundred controls completed a handedness preference questionnaire. There was no significant difference in handedness between the two samples, but, contrary to some previous reports, excess of sinistrality was not associated with male sex. The distribution of handedness was similar in neurotics and controls, but among psychotics in general there was a higher proportion of fully right-handed subjects. Among schizophrenics there was a significantly higher proportion of left-handed writers among males than females. There were relatively few left-handed writers of either sex among patients with affective psychosis. Female patients with personality disorders had a significantly higher proportion of mixed handedness than controls. The findings are considered in relation to suggestions that functional psychoses may be associated with asymmetrical cerebral dysfunction, and that poorly lateralized function may be related to anomalous psychological development.

Thirteen patients diagnosed as having affective disorders, and who were taking lithium, were compared with drug-free controls on short-term and long-term memory tasks. There was some indication that patients on lithium may show an impairment of short-term memory at fifteen-second delay intervals, and possibly enhanced long-term recall of difficult material. Further comparison with results obtained from six patients on tricyclic antidepressants seemed to reduce the possibility that the lithium group's scores were a function of their psychiatric status.

As the group sizes were small, all the findings need to be replicated.

The survey of 140 children under 16 in two subnormality hospitals showed that 3 per cent of the children had definitely been rendered mentally handicapped as a consequence of violent abuse, and that a possible maximum total of 11 per cent might have been thus rendered mentally handicapped. In 24 per cent of the children, neglect was considered to be a contributory factor in reducing intellectual potential.

Impairment of intellect from abuse and neglect, especially in those with ‘vulnerable’ brains due to pre-existing abnormality, may be much commoner in children than is generally realized.

A survey of 1,811 mentally handicapped males in eighteen hospitals is described. Males discovered with supernumerary Y chromosomes numbered 15, of whom 12 were 47,XYY. Some of the physical, social, psychological and psychiatric findings are described and compared with groups matched for IQ and height.

The main psychiatric findings are diminished intelligence, retardation in development of secondary sexual characteristics, and poor emotional control leading to inadequate social adaptive patterns which are described and discussed.

The mode of inheritance of affective psychoses was studied in 800 first degree and 582 second degree relatives of 122 probands. Morbidity risk for unipolar depression was 12·0±3·2 and 11·4±2·7 per cent respectively for parents and siblings of probands suffering from unipolar depression. Morbidity risk for manic-depressive psychosis for the respective groups of first degree relatives of manic-depressive probands was 15·1±3·2 and 16·9±3·2 per cent. In second degree relatives the morbidity risk was 3·4±1·0 and 5·3±1·4 per cent for unipolar depression and manic-depressive psychosis respectively.

The results indicate the role of genetical factors in the etiology of both types of affective disorder and show that unipolar depression and manic-depressive psychosis are distinct entities. The hypothesis of X-linked dominant transmission was not confirmed in either of these affective disorders. By means of the computational model of Slater, no results compatible with a polygenic inheritance of unipolar depression or manic-depressive psychosis were found.

A double-blind clinical trial of phenelzine and diazepam against placebo and diazepam in neurotic patients over a four-week period showed phenelzine to be superior to placebo on three rating scales in some groups of patients who completed the trial. The findings suggest that phenelzine may exert a beneficial effect on some as yet undefined features of anxiety and depression which were not revealed by a multiple regression analysis of clinical symptomatology or premorbid personality.

Imipramine and phenelzine were ineffective in the treatment of five primary unipolar depressives with delusions, even when plasma levels of imipramine and desmethylimipramine or activity of platelet monoamine oxidase suggested that an adequate dose of drug had been given. Four patients went on to receive ECT and all responded well. Five non-delusional patients responded satisfactorily to the antidepressant drug given. Nine out of ten subjects were women. Non-delusional patients showed some placebo response.

ECT is considered to be the treatment of choice in the acute phase of delusional depression in women.

Schizophrenic patients in treatment with the Hawaii state system have been followed from 1962 to 1972. This cohort includes 1,689 persons: out-patients as well as in-patients; of Japanese, Caucasian, part-Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese and other ancestries. After ten years, 60 per cent remain registered with the Hawaii Mental Health Division; 14 per cent are found living in the state; 12 per cent are lost to follow-up; and 14 per cent have died. Mortality is analysed for all causes by comparison with similar ethnic and sex sub-groups of the general population.

An account is given of impressions and observations collected during three weeks in November 1975 which the writer spent with two of his chronic schizophrenic patients in a purpose-built isolation unit inside which it was impossible to have any idea of the real time.

This experience gave the observer an unusually close view of schizophrenic and institutional behaviour and some insight into the natural outcome of staff-patient interaction.

Findings are presented on 42 children of school age, the offspring of 26 adult psychiatric patients. Psychiatric disorder was found in 19 (45 per cent) of the children, compared with 12 (26 per cent) of 47 children from a control group of families.

Families with disturbed children differed from the remaining families in the following ways: presence of frank marital discord, the diagnosis of personality disorder in the parents, the inability of the father to tolerate angry situations, and the presence of siblings of under 9 years of age. Six months later, 9 of the 19 children had improved considerably. In almost every family this was associated with improvement in the condition of the parents.

It is suggested that the psychiatric disorder of these children is reactive to the presence of emotional turmoil in the families.

In a group of 99 three-year-old children with behaviour problems identified in an epidemiological survey, family and social factors were compared with those in a group of controls. Behaviour problems were significantly associated with a strained marital relationship between parents, with social stresses and with type of housing. There was a high rate of maternal depression in both problem and control groups. The interaction between a behaviour problem in a young child, maternal mental health and social factors is discussed.

A statistical association has been found between reports of suicide inquests in a local paper and the subsequent suicide of men under 45 years.

A case of paranoid psychosis in an elderly female is reported in which recurrent episodes were apparently induced by the staff of the institution where the patient was a resident. The issues raised by this case are discussed.