Overview Race, ethnicity, and culture may all exert a tremendous impact on medical diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes. This is especially true in psychiatry, given the prominent role that culture plays in patients' interpretation and management of symptoms that fall within…
Overview Lifestyle choices are associated with the development of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Centuries ago, Hippocrates emphasized the power of exercise and nutrition; he noted, “If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too…
Overview The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health defines Mind–Body Medicine as an approach that “focuses on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behavior, and on the powerful ways in which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioral…
Overview Most of us take our ability to function physically (e.g., to open a tube of toothpaste, answer the telephone, tie our shoelaces, use the toilet, or comb our hair) and cognitively for granted. However, these capabilities can be lost…
Overview Burn injuries are as ancient as fire itself. All afflicted individuals need help and many require psychiatric consultation; their psychiatric care may be as challenging as their surgical care. Depending on their experience, physicians, nurses, and trainees new to…
Overview Each of the syndromes described in this chapter involves a complex interaction of motor, behavioral, and systemic manifestations that are derived from mechanisms that are not fully clear. What is clear is that neurotransmitters, such as dopamine (DA), gamma-aminobutyric…
Psychosomatic Medicine A keen interest in the relationship between the psyche and the soma has been maintained in medicine since early times, and certain ancient physicians (such as Hippocrates) have been eloquent on the subject. A search for the precise…
Key Points Mental health is essential to general health around the world; however, there is a continuous need to educate psychiatrists in the developed world about global mental health and to build psychiatric and mental health resources to meet an…
Key Points Background Cultural differences in the presentation of psychiatric illnesses exist and include most if not all psychiatric disorders, including depression and psychosis. Cultural aspects can play a fundamental role in the manifestation of symptoms and the appearance of…
Key Points Background Catatonia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), and serotonin syndrome are neuropsychiatric conditions with prominent motor, behavioral, and systemic manifestations. Catatonia is a syndrome with multiple medical, neurological, and psychiatric etiologies that requires a systematic approach for diagnosis. NMS…