Sexual jealousy is both an attitude of mind and an emotional state: the latter resulting from a blending of emotions aroused by an affront to the instincts of mating, self-assertion and acquisition. Sexual jealousy is of particular interest to the psychiatrist, since in its morbid manifestations it destroys marital harmony (Gillard, 1896) and may lead to homicide or suicide (Mowat, 1966). Sexual jealousy may be regarded as a normal reaction but it is abnormal when: (a) the jealous person is haunted by what the ‘man in the street’ would recognize as a groundless conviction that his or her sexual partner has been, or will be, unfaithful; or (b) jealousy engendered by actual infidelity is of such intensity as to render the person dangerously aggressive. Examples of the second category are Ruth Ellis, who shot dead her unfaithful lover; and Pilar Garcia-Compte, who killed her husband after he had refused to break with his mistress.

From a sex-chromatin survey of patients in hospitals for the subnormal, Hunter (1966) concluded that the great height and large build of XYY (and XXYY) males might present such a frightening picture that when such a person was convicted of an offence, judges and psychiatrists would be biased towards directing them to Special Hospitals in the interests of community safety. In a study of 464 defective delinquents we found 97 inmates who were at least 72 inches tall (Welch, Borgaonkar and Herr, 1967). There were two 47, XYY and four 47, XXY males in this group. Nielsen and Tsuboi (1970) have indicated that patients with tall stature have a comparatively pronounced disposition to character disorder and criminality. However, Baker et al. (1970) believe that the role of extraordinary height in generating both antisocial behaviour and selective commitment to maximum security facilities remains undefined. Although all these reports have been concerned with adult offenders, we considered about a possible relationship between 47, XYY karyotype, height and admission to institutions of juvenile delinquents.

Stress-induced alterations in how a person attributes meaning to internal and external stimuli may represent the first step in explaining how population ethnic minority–majority interactions affect mental health. Cross-context and diagnostic assumption-free research is required to elucidate how the wider social environment interacts with personal characteristics to increase expression of psychosis.

Over a 25 year period, 2.4 per cent of Birmingham medical students developed psychiatric disorder which was severe enough to cause loss of time from the course; 1 per cent of the total required hospital admission. One-third of the psychiatrically ill students did not graduate, but those who did were as likely as graduates who had not been ill to remain on the Medical Register.

The tradition of medical practice is based on the assumption that the patients come to the doctor for professional advice and service. Having done so, they have the right to reject the advice or refuse the service, and to go elsewhere. There are a few exceptions to this general rule. Children do not come to doctors, they are brought to them. In that case, the rights pertain to the parents. Persons who are so seriously injured or ill that they cannot exercise their judgement, will be brought for treatment, and it is then assumed that the doctors will use their professional judgement and do their best, considering the circumstances, for them. This applied also to those patients who were mentally disturbed in such a way that they could not make proper decisions.

Recently, Mitchell (1969) treated 16 migraine subjects using a combination of three specific behaviour therapy techniques namely, applied relaxation training, desensitization and assertive therapy. Migraine episodes for the treatment subjects decreased by an average of 89.5 per cent when compared with their pre-treatment base rate; no change was reported by six control subjects. The present investigation reports the comparative effectiveness of the three behaviour therapy techniques used previously. The specific therapeutic effectiveness of applied relaxation training was compared with that of combined desensitization (relaxation application, desensitization and assertive therapy). This comparison follows the conclusion by Cautela (1969), ‘… that relaxation can be considered a self-control technique in its own right: first, when it is used to reduce the overall anxiety level, and second, as a means of decreasing anxiety or tension whenever the patient is either involved in a readily identifiable anxiety-provoking situation, or is experiencing anxiety without being able to discern the antecedent conditions (p. 328.)’ It was predicted that combined desensitization would be more effective than the single-model procedure of applied relaxation training.

Over the last 30 years the proportion of those over 65 in our population has increased by nearly 50 per cent. Over the same period alcohol consumption in general has risen by nearly 100 per cent, probably with an even greater increase in those suffering from alcohol-related problems. Nevertheless, many doctors still do not expect to find alcohol abuse in elderly people.

In our previous paper (Humphrey and Ounsted, 1963) we found that the symptoms and behaviour problems of children adopted in early infancy resembled those of children reared by their own parents. A significant trend appeared only among children adopted after the age of 6 months, who were more prone to anti-social conduct. But the proportion of adopted children referred to the Park Hospital for Children over a four-year period (2·9 per cent.) was more than double the corresponding estimate for the general population. It is tempting to attribute at least part of this excess to the relatively large number of delayed adoptions in our sample, of whom 34 out of 80 (43 per cent.) were aged 6 months or more at the time of placement.

A 45-year-old man was admitted with a hair growth delusion and depressive symptoms. The delusion persisted for three years and disappeared after a manic episode. This odd delusion has some similarities with lycanthropy.

The 109 female survivors of a mental hospital population surveyed in 1965 for facial dyskinesia were followed up 16 years later. The 99 survivors with non-organic brain syndromes were analysed. Prevalence of dyskinesia had risen from 18.4% to 46.5% during follow-up and its development was significantly associated with neuroleptic dosage. Enlarged ventricles on brain scans were significantly associated with dyskinesia, cognitive impairment and neuroleptic prescribing.

The case here described is of interest in that it concerns a young man of good intelligence who presented a disorder limited to visual-gnostic functions; this is noteworthy as the majority of the cases described are elderly patients and there are usually other than visual gnostic functions involved. The case has special circumstances of additional significance. The patient had lost the sight of his right eye in infancy and he was a definite right-handed man; the damage involved the right hemisphere; this exceptional coincidence raises interesting problems of hemispheric dominance.

There is a substantial literature which demonstrates that irresponsible reporting of suicide can lead to copycat acts and, as a result, many countries have developed guidelines for media professionals. Some of the recommendations in these guidelines draw directly on the evidence and describe how reporting can be done in a measured fashion that minimises any likely negative influence. Other recommendations relate more to good journalistic practice and are about showing respect for the bereaved in their time of grieving. The study by Chapple et al, in this issue, indicates that there may sometimes be tensions between what media guidelines recommend and what those bereaved by suicide believe is important. We would argue that in such cases common ground can be reached.

The performance culture of the health service means that the psychological well-being of staff is becoming paramount in maintaining the workforce and in sustaining psychological health and morale. A Charter for Psychological Staff Wellbeing and Resilience is introduced that puts the onus on us and on employers to make the necessary adjustments to their workplace cultures and encourage professionals – us – to break through the barrier of stigma.

Sarcosine, which is freely sold as a dietary supplement, has pharmacological activity to boost functioning of the glutamatergic N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) and hence it is a biologically rational treatment for schizophrenia. The small number of studies carried out to date provide some evidence for its efficacy and psychiatrists could consider suggesting its use to their patients.

This is a clinical and pathological report on an unusual case of periarteritis nodosa in which the disease was confined chiefly to the brain and spinal cord. The diffuseness, variability and intermittency of the neurological signs and symptoms over a period of two years, in the absence of many of the more usual somatic manifestations of periarteritis nodosa, was responsible for the nature of the disorder not being diagnosed before death. Mental symptoms were prominent throughout the last year of illness. T.A.B. pyrexial therapy coincided with a marked remission in physical and mental symptoms, whilst arsenical therapy appeared to precipitate the terminal exacerbation of symptoms.

In acquiescing to Dr. Leeper's request that I should produce something for this Meeting, I thought that the best subject would be the relation of insanity to the parturient state. It is interesting to find that the description of the symptomatology of this disease only dates from 1875, when Fürstner (1) first described it.

A number of new tranquillizing drugs have recently become available. We report a method of assessment for one of these—“Pacatal”. In this experiment the new drug was compared with (i) no treatment at all, (ii) treatment using dummy tablets of the same size and appearance as the Pacatal tablets, and (iii) Largactil. A group of patients suffering from schizophrenia were selected, all being deteriorated. These patients can be found in considerable numbers with a reasonably similar clinical picture which is relatively stationary without treatment.

The first difficulty one meets with in deciding these points is in knowing exactly what is meant by mania. Pinel's definition of mania was insanity, marked “by a strong nervous excitement” of the mind and body, “accompanied by lesions of one or more of the functions of the understanding.” Melancholia was distinguished from it, by there being “no propensity to acts of violence,” and by the insanity being “exclusively upon one subject.”