A search (precision value 94%, recall value 93%) of the ISI Web of Science database (1992–2001) revealed that mental health publications accounted for 3–4% of the health literature. A 10/90 divide in internationally accessible mental health literature was evident and remained undiminished through 10 years as low- and middle-income countries (n= 152) contributed only 6%, high-income countries (n=54) 94%, and 14 leading high-income countries (with more than 1% contribution for majority of years under consideration) contributed 90% of internationally accessible mental health research. Steps should be taken to improve the research infrastructure and capacity to conduct and disseminate mental health research in general, and on a priority basis in low- and middle-income countries.

The genesis of Tourette syndrome is still unknown, but a core role for the pathways of cortico-striatal-thalamic-cortical circuitry (CSTC) is supposed. Volume-rendering magnetic resonance imaging data-sets were analysed in 14 boys with Tourette syndrome and 15 age-matched controls using optimised voxel-based morphometry. Locally increased grey-matter volumes (corrected P < 0.001) were found bilaterally in the ventral putamen. Regional decreases in grey matter were observed in the left hippocampal gyrus. This unbiased analysis confirmed an association between striatal abnormalities and Tourette syndrome, and the hippocampal volume alterations indicate an involvement of temporolimbic pathways of the CSTC in the syndrome.

Intellectual asymmetry with superiority of verbal skills to spatial skills frequently characterises patients with schizophrenia, but it is unclear whether this pattern also reflects genetic susceptibility to the disorder. We examined the association of a continuous measure of genetic liability to schizophrenia with Verbal-Spatial Contrast IQ (an index of intellectual asymmetry) in 108 first-degree relatives without psychosis of probands with schizophrenia. Higher genetic liability was significantly associated with greater intellectual asymmetry in favour of verbal skills. Intellectual asymmetry with a relative superiority of verbal skills to spatial skills represents a putative endophenotype of schizophrenia.

Abouttwo-thirds of long-term users of benzodiazepines in the population are able to discontinue this drug with the aid of supervised programmes for tapering off. Little is known about the long-term outcome of such programmes, and they have never been compared with usual care. After a 15-month follow-up of a randomised controlled trial comparing such a programme with and without psychotherapy with usual care, we found significantly higher longitudinal abstinence rates in long-term benzodiazepine users who received a benzodiazepine tapering-off programme without psychotherapy (25 out of 69, 36%) compared with those who received usual care (5 out of 33, 15%; P=0.03).

Depression following childbirth is associated with poor child growth in developing countries. We describe the association between psychological morbidity during pregnancy and low birth weight (<2.5 kg). A cohort of 270 mothers was recruited from a district hospital in Goa, India; all mothers were interviewed with a screening questionnaire for psychological morbidity. Babies of 250 mothers were reviewed at birth to measure their weight. Excluding 5 premature babies, we found that maternal psychological morbidity was independently associated with low birth weight (odds ratio 1.44, 95% CI 1.00–2.07). We conclude that maternal psychological morbidity has an adverse impact on foetal growth.

The appropriateness and therapeutic value of physical contact with children is under increasing scrutiny. We conducted a postal questionnaire and telephone survey of consultant child and adolescent psychiatrists within Great Britain to investigate attitudes of specialists towards physical contact with their patients in different clinical contexts. Here we report that psychiatrists tend to restrict physical contact to the minimum essential for patient comfort or safety. Decision-making about contact is primarily influenced by professional experience and training. This conservative approach to physical contact with patients has implications for clinical practice and requires to be better informed by evidence.

We examined the effect of a structured educational programme on explanatory models of illness among the relatives of people with schizophrenia, in a randomised controlled trial. Participants were assessed at baseline (n=100) and after 2 weeks (n=75) using a vignette from the Short Explanatory Model Interview. There was a reduction in non-biomedical causal explanatory models at follow-up among those who had completed the structured educational programme compared with the control group. There was no significant difference in non-biomedical treatment explanatory models between the two groups.