Text and references for the October 2013 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.

In October Australian Psychiatry Review features a focus section on cerebral organoids, an exciting new technique for exploring neurodevelopmental processes using cells taken from adults. The literature review includes Gin Malhi’s critique of the poorly defined and variably implemented diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder and evidence by Lopez and colleagues suggesting recent claims of the severe harms of prescription of antipsychotic medications for behavioural disturbances in dementia in nursing homes may be overstated. Koesters and colleagues show that agomelatine is ineffective for depression when negative unpublished data are considered, while Harrow and Jobe argue that the benefits of long-term antipsychotic therapy for schizophrenia have not been convincingly demonstrated. And now, let’s consider research in Australian psychiatric journals.

Text and references for the September 2013 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.

In September Australian Psychiatry Review features an outline of the use of optogenetics in psychiatry research. Other highlights include debate in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry over the legal and clinical basis of abortion justified by increased risk of adverse mental health; articles in JAMA Psychiatry and Biological Psychiatry exploring evidence linking schizophrenia with disrupted connections between specific brain regions, with Fan and colleagues in Biological Psychiatry demonstrating that olfactory stem cells taken from adults with schizophrenia show adhesion and motility dysfunction that might explain neurodevelopmental abnormalities.

In August Australian Psychiatry Review features a summary of psychosis research over the last year. Other highlights include a summary of evidence on the rapid antidepressant properties of ketamine, research that suggests sub threshold psychotic experiences are non-specific risk factors, and links between trauma and psychosis in adolescents.

Text and references for the August 2013 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.

In July Australian Psychiatry Review debuts a monthly focus section associated with an online quiz. The quiz can be found at http://australianpsychiatryreview.com/podcasts/DSM5.html. Other highlights include research linking the mysterious process of tardive dyskinesia to reduced grey matter in the basal ganglia and thalamus, evidence that prodromal psychosis is associated with increased capacity for dopamine synthesis in the striatum, and support for an old theory of schizophrenia involving prefrontal cortical hypofunction disinhibiting subcortical dopamine release. Schizophrenia Bulletin includes a themed special on insights for schizophrenia from major depressive disorder with psychosis, while a review in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry suggests that most medical reasons for stopping clozapine are unjustified.

Text and references for the July 2013 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.

In June the international psychiatric literature includes interesting articles on psychosocial interventions for schizophrenia, forensic examination of Anders Behring Breivik, and the loss of frontal lobe tissue during relapse in schizophrenia. Check out our and pages!

Text and references for the June 2013 Australian Psychiatry Review podcast.