Brief History and Current Status of the International Neuropsychiatric Association

Abstract

The International Organization of Neuropsychiatry (ION) was ­established by Spanish and American neuropsychiatrists in Seville in the year 1996. In conjunction with the second congress in Toronto (1998), the International Neuropsychiatric Association (INA) was established to supersede the ION. Since then, the International Congresses of Neuropsychiatry have been held every 2 years, namely in Kyoto (2000), Buenos Aires (2002), Athens (2004), Sydney (2006), and Cancun (2008). Here, the brief history and topics of the plenary ­lectures and symposia in the past congresses are reviewed. The current status of the INA, including Mission Statement, Officers, Committees, and Regional Activities, is also mentioned briefly.

Introduction

The International Organization of Neuropsychiatry (ION), currently the International Neuropsychiatric Association (INA), was established in 1996. According to the Mission Statement, the INA aims to prevent or reduce the suffering of the patients with neuropsychiatric disorders by studying the psychiatric symptoms or ­syndromes in cerebral disorders and by investigating neurobiological bases of psychiatric ­disorders. The INA provides a forum for interaction and exchange of ideas among professionals in neuropsychiatry and endeavors to publicize and disseminate both clinical and academic advances in the field of neuropsychiatry. Here, a brief history of the association and current status are mentioned briefly as an introduction for new INA members.

The Beginning: The First Congress in Seville

The ION was originally planned to be established by Spanish and American ­neuropsychiatrists in Seville in 1996. The Organizing Committee consisted of four persons: Dr. Barry S. Fogel, Brown University (USA); Dr. Moises Gaviria, the University of Illinois at Chicago (USA); Dr. Jose Giner, The University of Seville (Spain); and Dr. Robert Green, Emory University School of Medicine (USA). The committee proposed to establish an international organization and to hold the congress. In the flyer to call the congress, the intentions were described as follows.

Dear Colleague:

Neuropsychiatry is a burgeoning discipline not only in the United States, but worldwide. Recent binational meetings sponsored by the American Neuropsychiatric Association and the British Neuropsychiatric Association not only attest to ­widespread interest in neuropsychiatry but also to meaningful and interesting ­differences in neuropsychiatric training, practice, and thinking among countries.

This summer’s World Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid, Spain, offers an excellent opportunity to convene neuropsychiatrists from around the world to encourage the development of a world neuropsychiatric community that could subsequently maintain communications over the Internet. The American Neuropsychiatric Association (ANPA), The University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Psychiatry, and The University of Seville Department of Psychiatry have ­undertaken to organize an International Congress of Neuro­psychiatry, to be held in Seville, Spain, for three days immediately ­following the World Congress. The program includes plenary presentations by major American, British, European and Latin-American scientists and ­clinicians, poster sessions, and round table discussions. All major speakers have agreed to be available on the day of their talk for informal interchanges with participants, and all major speakers will participate in lunch round tables on a variety of ­topics. Interpreters will be available to facilitate cross-national communications.

The Hotel Alfonso XIII, site for the meeting, is one of the finest hotels in the world, and Seville offers a picturesque venue that is a short flight from other European cities.

We look forward to seeing you at this meeting, the first of many such ­international gatherings.

Sincerely

The International Congress of Neuropsychiatry

Organizing Committee

The First Congress was held successfully at the Hotel Alfonso XIII in Seville, August 29–31, 1996. Large numbers of neuropsychiatrists, ­approximately 400, from Europe, North and South America, and Asia-Oceania gathered there and discussed enthusiastically the new organization of neuropsychiatry (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

The flyer of the First Congress in Seville, 1996

The Topics in the First Congress were as follows:

Creating a World Neuropsychiatric Community, New Developments in Dementia, The Frontal Lobe System, Advances in Brain Imaging, Keynote Lecture: The Past and the Future of Neuropsychiatry, Basic and Clinical Topics in Neuropsychiatry, Round Table Discussion (Education and Training, Organization and Financing of Health Care, Outcome Studies, AIDS Dementia Complex, Aggression, Psychiatric Symptoms in Dementia), The Practice of Neuropsychiatry and System Care, Clinical Perspectives in Neuropsychiatry (Neuropsychiatry in Europe, SPECT and Depression, Schizophreniform Phenomena and the Temporal Lobe, Biology of Melancholia, Laterality and Schizophrenia, Building a World Neuropsychiatric Community)

Principal speakers in the First Congress were:

A. Ardila (US), S. Cervera (Spain), J. Cook (US), E. Costa (US), J. Cummings (US), A. David (UK), B. Dubois (France), L. Farrer (US), B. Fogel (US), J. Giner (Spain), P. Gorelick (US), P. Grasby (UK), R. Green (US), J. Guimon (Switzerland), T. Jobe (US), C. Leal (Spain), A. Lishman (UK), H. Markowitsch (Germany), M. Mesulam (US), M. Rasenick (US), S. Rauch (US), J. ­Vallejo-Ruiloba (Spain), M. Spitzer (Germany), N. Vokow (US), P. Whitehouse (US), and others.

The Reorganization: The Second Congress in Toronto

Soon after the congress in Seville, Dr. Colin Shapiro (Toronto) and Dr. Koho Miyoshi (Kyoto) expressed their intentions to the organizing committee to hold the coming neuropsychiatric congress in their countries. The arrangement of the future congress was discussed in Orlando, Florida, where the Eighth Annual Meeting of American Neuropsychiatric Association was held, in 1997. Dr. Moises Gaviria attended the meeting on behalf of the organizing committee of the First Congress in Seville. It was decided to hold the Second Congress in Toronto.

Dr. Shapiro, Dr. Gaviria, and Dr. Miyoshi gathered to discuss about the financial issues of the INA in Hawaii, where the Ninth Annual Congress of American Neuropsychiatric Association was held in January 1998, and decided to manage the organization temporarily by their financial contributions.

The Second International Congress of Neuropsychiatry, which was called ­formally the “International Neuropsychiatry Congress (INC) and American Neuropsychiatric Association (ANPA) 1998 Joint Meeting,” was held May 31 in Toronto, Canada. The INA sessions and the ANPA sessions were held in the ­meeting. In conjunction with the Toronto meeting, the INA, dedicated to promoting the study of the brain and behavior from a neuropsychiatric perspective, was ­established to supersede the ION. Twenty-four countries from Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Australia were represented. It was decided that the ­association would hold a biennial meeting.

As the first president of the association, Dr. Colin Shapiro (Canada) was elected. Dr. Koho Miyoshi (vice-president) and Dr. Moises Gaviria (secretary-general) were elected as the officers. Drs. R.H. Belmaker (Israel), E.Y.H. Chen (Hong Kong), D.D. Dikeos (Greece), M. Robertson (UK), P. Sachdev (Australia), and P. Sandor (Canada) were elected as the members of the Executive Committee. The office of the INA was decided to be located in the office of the president in Toronto. Dr. Paul Sander (Canada) was elected as a newsletter editor, and Dr. Sharon Chung (Canada) was appointed as the secretariat in the INA office (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2

The Presidents of the INA: Dr. C. Shapiro (1998–2002), Dr. P. Sachdev (2004–2006), Dr. K. Miyoshi (2008–), and Dr. M. Gaviria (2002–2004) in Buenos Aires, 2002 (from left)

The Mission Statement was proposed and accepted in the executive committee.

Mission Statement of the International Neuropsychiatric Association (1998)

1.The INA aims to prevent or reduce the suffering of people with ­brain-behavior disorders by increasing, integrating, and disseminating ­knowledge and understand the relationships between brain function and human behavior.

2.The INA aims to accomplish this objective by providing a forum for interaction and exchange of ideas among a variety of professionals with an interest in neuropsychiatric issues.

3.The INA endeavors to publicize and disseminate both clinical and ­academic advances in the field to bring about improved health for people throughout the world. Although rapidly advancing medical technology has greatly expanded the frontiers of neuropsychiatry, the INA will strive to preserve the humanistic values of medicine.

4.The INA endeavors to raise awareness of neuropsychiatry, particularly in those countries where it is not well known or recognized.

The scientific topics and principal speakers in the Second Congress were:

Neuropsychiatry of Tourettes’ Syndrome [M. Robertson (UK), E.C. Miquel (Brazil), B.J.M. van de Wetering (the Netherlands)]; The Epidemiology of Hallucinations [M. Ohayon (Canada)], Neuropsychiatry, and Neuroimaging [L. Farde (Sweden), P. Martin (US), R. Dolan (UK)]; Genetics and Psychobiology of Personality (Keynote Lecture) [C.R. Cloninger (US)]; Genetics of Neuropsychiatry [K. Kidd (US), D. Black (US), M. Lepper (US), B. Clementz (US), P. Propping (Germany)], and Art and the Mind [H. Walton (UK)].

The Springboard: The Third Congress in Kyoto

The executive committee was held in New Orleans, where the Tenth Annual Congress of American Neuropsychiatric Association took place, on January 31, 1999. The pro­posed by-laws of the INA were examined and accepted by the executive committee.

The Third Congress was held in Kyoto, Japan, April 9–13, 2000. The venue of the Congress was The Kyoto International Conference Hall at Takaragaike, Kyoto. At the Kyoto meeting, approximately 700 people participated. Thirty-one countries and districts, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela, sent delegates.

The topics of the plenary lectures in the Third Congress were:

Dementia with Lewy Body [I. McKeith (UK)]; Tourette Syndrome [M.M. Robertson (UK)]; Neuropsychiatry in the Elderly [J.L. Cummings (US)]; Zen and the Brain [J.H. Austin (US)]; Functional Neuroimaging [H. Shibazaki (Japan)]; Sex Differences in Brain Aging [C.E. Coffey (US)]; Biological Substrate of Late Life Depression [J. Schweitzer (Australia)]; Neuropsychiatry of Stroke [R.G. Robinson (US)]; Neuropsychiatry of Limbic and Subcortical Disorders [S.P. Salloway (US)]; Neuroimaging and Neurobiology of Schizophrenia [N. Andreasen (US)]; Brain Laterality and Psychopathology [G. Gainotti (Italy)]; Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia [S.I. Finkel (US)]; Neuropsychiatry in 21st Century [C. Shapiro (Canada)]; Positron Emission Tomography Studies in Schizophrenia [J.J. Lopez-Ibor (Spain)]; Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Sleep Disorders [C. Soldatos (Greece)], Brain Pathology of Dementia [K. Kosaka (Japan)]; Non-Alzheimer Type of Dementia [L. Gustafson (Sweden)]; New Trends of Pharmacological Treatment of Dementia [K. Miyoshi (Japan)]; and Schizophrenia-like Psychoses and Epilepsy [P. Sachdev (Australia)].

The topics of the symposia and workshop in the Third Congress were:

Worldwide Collaborations in Neuropsychiatry, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Advances in Psychooncology and Psychoimmunology, Behavioral Genetics of Personality, Vulnerability Markers of Schizophrenia, Vascular Dementia, Biology of Eating Disorders, Dementia in Asian Countries, Brain and Behavior, Molecular Genetics of Stimulant-Induced Psychosis, Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Related Conditions, Clinical Aspects of Dementing Disorders, ­Fronto-Temporal Lobe Dementia, Genetics of Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders, Alzheimer’s Disease, Neuropharmacology, Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Schizophrenia, Anticonvulsants, Obsessive–Compulsive Disorders and Personality Disorders, Diffuse Lewy Body Disease, Lithium and Signal Transduction, Genetics of Personality, and Post-Mortem Brain Specimens to Study Affective Disorders.

The monograph, Contemporary Neuropsychiatry, which consists of selected papers from the Third Congress, was edited by K. Miyoshi, C. Shapiro, M. Gaviria, and Y. Morita, and published by Springer-Verlag Tokyo in 2001.

The Jump: The Fourth Congress in Buenos Aires

The Fourth Congress, chaired by Dr. Marquez (Buenos Aires), was held in Buenos Aires in 2002. The venue was Hotel Crowne Plaza Panamericano in Buenos Aires. Approximately 1,500 people participated in the Congress. The topics of the ­meeting covered the neuropsychiatric field almost completely. As the Second INA ­president, Dr. Moises Gavira (US) was elected for a 2-year term. Treasurer [G. Tortora (Argentina)] and the members of Executive Committee [R. Belmaker (Israel), K. Miyoshi (Japan), A. Kanner (US), E.S. Krishnamoorthy (India), M. Marquez (Artentina), S. Shi (China), J. Tellez (Columbia), D. Dikeos (Greece), and C. Soldatos (Greece)] were elected in the Executive Meeting.

Issues of the official journal and committees, such as the education committee and membership committee, were discussed in the Executive Meeting.

The topics of the lectures in the Fourth Congress were:

Psychopathology in Epilepsy [A. Kanner (US)]; G-Protein Signaling in ­Anti-Depressants [M. Rasenick (US)]; Tau Changes and Deficit in Episodic Memory [L. Binder (US)]; Concussion in Sports [R. Bornstein (US)]; New Trends in the Treatment of Dementia [K. Miyoshi (Japan)]; Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson’s Disease [O. Gershanik (Argentine)]; Organic Psychosis as a Model for Schizophrenia [P. Sachdev (Australia)]; Thyroid Hormone and Affective Disorders [R. Bunevicius (Lithuania)]; Neuropsychological and Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Electric Trauma [N. Pliskin (US)]; Mechanism and Action of mu-Opioides [J. Lemos (US)]; Cognitive Therapy [R. Baber (US)]; Towards an Early and Presymptomatic Diagnosis of Primary Degenerative Dementia [C. Mangone (Argentine)]; Prion Disease [A.L. Taratuto (Argentine)], Sleep Disorders [C. Shapiro (Canada)], Cognitive-Motor Disorder in Psychiatric Diseases [R. Leiguarda (Argentine)]; Functional MRI in Neuropsychiatry [G. Stebbens (US)]; Neurogenesis in Adult Hippocampus [A. Schinder (Argentine)]; Current Status and Future Directions in Psychiatric Neurosurgery [K. Slavin (US)]; Music Brain and Culture [M. Gaviria (US)]; A Genetic Approach to the Conceptual Nosological Continuum of Schizophrenia and Mood Disorders [D. Dikeos (Greece)]; Vascular Dementia: an Overview [G. Roman (US)]; Chronobiology and Affective Disorders [D. Cardinali (Argentine)]; Attention Deficit [J. Gutierrez (Mexico)]; Brain Damage and Recovery [M. Gaviria (US)]; ECT in Neuropsychiatric Disorders [C. Campillo (Mexico)]; Neuropsycho Immunology [R. Espaillat (Dominica)]; Neuropsychology of Memory [J. Medina (Argentine)]; Neuronal Networks in OCD [M. Marquez (Argentine)]; and Inflammation Transcription Factors [G. de Erausquin (US)].

The topics of the symposia in the Fourth Congress were:

Neuropsychiatry and Primary Care, Organic Bases of Psychopathology in Epilepsy, Neuroimaging in Neuropsychiatry, Cognitive Assessment Tools for Iberoamerica, Psychic Handicapped Condition, Pharmacological Management of Tourette’s Syndrome and Associated Disorders, Alzheimer’s Disease, Diagnostic Challenges in Neuropsychiatry, Frontal Lobe and Executive Function, Stress, New Neuropsychiatrics Approaches, New Trends in Depression, Neuropsychiatric Issues of Autism Spectrum, and Spectrum of the Frontotemporal Dementia.

In this conference, the Lishman Award and the Ramon Y. Cajal Award were estab­lished. The Lishman Award was established to honor the modern pioneer of Neuropsychiatry, Professor Alwyn Lishman of London. It is presented every 2 years to an individual who has made a notable contribution to clinical ­neuro­psychiatry at the international level. The awardee will be a distinguished ­clinician and extend practice, teaching, and/or service delivery of neuropsychiatry beyond the boundaries of his or her own country. The Ramon Y. Cajal Award was established to honor the Father of Neuroscience. This award is presented every 2 years to an individual who has made a distinguished contribution to neuroscience with an application to neuropsychiatry. The awardee will be an eminent ­neuroscientist who has made salient contribution resulting in a paradigm shift or the development of novel diagnostic or management strategies.

Dr. Julio Vellejo Ruiloba (Spain) presented a lecture titled “Issues of Current Neuropsychiatry” as the first awardee of the Ramón y Cajal Award, and Dr. Gustavo Roman (US) gave a lecture on “Vascular Dementia. An Overview” as the first awardee of the Alwyn Lishiman Award.

The Collaborations: The Fifth Congress in Athens

The Fifth International Congress, in conjunction with the First Mediterranean Congress of World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry, was held in Athens, October 14–18, in 2004. The venue of the meeting was the International Conference Center at Megaron. Dr. Constantin Soldatos chaired the Congress. The possibilities to stimulate activities of the INA by collaborating with closely related scientific societies were clearly shown in this meeting.

This was the First Congress in a European country, and approximately 1,000 people participated in this meeting. The scientific topics covered the field of ­neuropsychiatry very widely as well as biological psychiatry. Since then, the regional INA meeting, named the European Congress of the INA, has been held every 2 years. Dr. Perminder Sachdev (Sydney) was elected as the third INA ­president, and the INA office was moved to Sydney.

Dr. M Trimble (UK), the awardee of the Alwyn Lishman Award, presented the lecture “The Evolution of the Limbic System and Epilepsy as a Clinical Model of Dissolution,” and Dr. V.S. Ramachandran (US), the awardee of the Ramon y Cajal Award, gave a lecture titled “Art and Brain.”

The topics of the lectures in the Fifth Congress were:

Vascular Dementia [M. Gaviria (US)]; Schizophrenia as Disorder of Consciousness [C.R. Hojaij (Australia)]; Ethical Issues in Biological Psyc-hiatry Research [A. Okasha (Egypt)]; Long-Term Outcome of Schizophrenia [H.J. Möller (Germany)]; The Psychopathology of Fatigue [C. Shapiro (Canada)]; The Evolution of the Limbic System and Epilepsy [M. Trimble (UK)]; Art and Brain [V.S. Ramachandran (US)]; Bipolar I and II Disorders [L. Judd (US)]; What Causes the Onset of Psychosis? [R.M. Murray (UK)]; Can Stress Cause Depression? [H.M. van Praag (the Netherlands)]; Catatonia [M. Fink (US)]; Neuropsychiatry of Traumatic Brain Injury [R.G. Robinson (US)]; Brain Mechanisms of Cognitive Processes [A. Georgopoulos (US)]; Towards New International Classification and Diagnostic Systems [J.E. Mezzich (US)]; Biological Correlates of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders [J.J. López-Ibor (Spain)]; Genetics of Mood Disorders [J. Mendlewicz (Belgium)]; Agitated Depression in Bipolar Disorder [M. Maj (Italy)]; Biological Perspectives in Psychiatric Prevention [G. Christodoulou (Greece)]; Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Mental Disorders in Old Age [K. Miyoshi (Japan)]; Impulsivity and Aggression [J.L. Ayuso-Gutiérrez (Spain)]; and Whither Neuropsychiatry? [P.S. Sachdev (Australia)].

The topics of the symposia in the Fifth Congress were:

Cognitive Declines and Behavioral Changes in Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Methodological Approaches in Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Psychopharmacology for Children and Adolescents, Basic and Clinical Aspects on Hippocampus in Depression, Management of Post Stroke Depression, ECT, Emerging Pharmacological and Neuroimaging Strategies in the Evaluation and Treatment of Dementia, Neuroimaging, Clinical and Experimental Europsychopharmacology, Clinical Responses and Ethnopsychopharmacology, Neuropathological Vistas in Neuropsychiatry, New Developments in Event-Related Potential Methodology, Prise en Charge au long cours dans la schizophrenie (in French), Neuropsychiatry and Beyond, Updates from Clinical Research in Bipolar Disorders, Cognitive Functional and Structural Changes in First-Episode Schizophrenic Children and Adults, The Contribution of New Tools to the Comprehension of Schizophrenia, Nuevos avances en la enfermedad de Alzheimer (in Spanish), Themes and Variations in Neuropsychiatry, The Neuropsychiatry of Epilepsy, Neuroendocrinology of ­Stress-Related Psychiatric Disorders, Genetics of Cognitive and Eye Tracking Dysfunctions in Major Psychoses, Depression and Aging, Sleep Disorders in Neuropsychiatry and Biological Psychiatry, Neuropsychiatric Disorders in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia, Biological Correlates of Learning Disabilities, Research in Neuroscience, Evidence of Schizophrenia as a Systemic Disease, Depression and Late Life Cognitive Disorders, Homocysteine and MTHFR Polymorphism in Psychiatry, Thyroid–Brain Interaction Across the Life Cycle, Continuing Challenges in Bipolar Disorders and Its Treatment, Neurobiology of Eating Disorders, Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Traumatic Brain Injury, Psychopathology in the Era of Neuroscience, Biological Aspects of Suicidal Behaviour, Animal Models of Schizophrenia, Magnetoencephalography in Psychiatry, Cholinesterase Inhibitors in Neuropsychiatry, The Link Between Experimental Studies and Clinical Practice, Neurocognitive Functions in Schizophrenia, Decision-Making Process in Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Utility of Quantitative EEG in Diagnosing and Treating Patients with Psychiatric Disorders, Neuropsychiatric Topics in Mexican Clinical Practice, etc.

The Widening: The Sixth Congress in Sydney

The Sixth Congress was held in Sydney in 2006. Approximately 600 people attended the congress. Neurobiological investigations of the endogenous psychoses as well as the neuropsychiatric disorders were discussed in the congress. In this congress, the realm of the neuropsychiatry was clearly widened by the impressive presentations of the neurobiological bases of endogenous psychoses as well as neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr. Perminder Sachdev, chair of the meeting, publicized the core curriculum for the training of neuropsychiatrists.

In this meeting, Dr. Soldatos was elected the fourth INA president. Professor Alvaro Pascual-Leone had been awarded the Ramon y Cajal award for his ­outstanding contribution to the understanding of higher cognitive functions and the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders using transcranial magnetic stimulation. The Lishman Award was awarded to Professor C. Edward Coffey, an accomplished physician and healthcare leader recognized for developing highly successful ­integrated mental health care systems and for his important contributions to our understanding of brain–behavior relationships. As the Award Lectures, Dr. A. Pascual-Leone presented a lecture entitled “The Right Side in Sigmund Freud,” and Dr. C.E. Coffey gave a lecture on “Dramatically Improving the Quality of Care in Neuropsychiatry” (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

The INA President Dr. C. Soldatos (2006–2008)

Instead of the sessions of the plenary lectures, the symposia and workshops were planned as the main sessions of the congress.

The topics of the symposia in the Sixth Congress were:

Neuropsychiatry as a Discipline for the Future (Presidential Symposium), Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Neurophilosophy, Psychiatric Aspects of Epilepsy, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Neurology of Schizophrenia, Newer Antidepressants, Delusional Belief, Developmental Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychopharmacology, Neuroimaging, Neurobiology of Consciousness, Movement Disorders and Catatonia, Neurobiology of Hallucinations, Neuropsychiatry of Bipolar Disorder, Old Age Psychiatry, Vitamins, Homocysteine and Omega 3 in Neuropsychiatry, Investigative Applications, Genetics of Childhood-Onset Psychiatric Disorders, Brain Stimulation, Neurobiology of Eating Disorders, Neuroimaging, Neurobiology of Melancholia, Unusual and Uncommon Neuropsychiatric Syndromes, New Horizons in Epilepsy and Behaviour, Brain Changes in Early Psychosis, Current Status of Vascular Cognitive Impairment, An Update on ECT, Depression in Old Age, ADHD Across the Lifespan, Catatonia and Cycloid Psychoses, Parkinson’s Disease, The Genetics of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Frontotemporal Dementia, Dementia, Controversies about Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), Neuropsychiatry of Sleep, Brain Reserve, and Traumatic Brain Injury.

Principal participants of the meeting in the program of the Sixth Congress were:

R.H. Belmaker (Israel), M. Bennett (Australia), S. Berkovic (Australia), H. Brodaty (Australia), G.A. Broe (Australia), C.E. Coffey (US), D. Copolov (Australia), A. David (UK), M. Gaviria (US), P. Hay (Australia), A. Jablensky (Australia), D. Jeste (US), P. Joyce (New Zealand), E.S. Krishnamoorthy (India), H.S. Mayberg (Canada), R. Meares (Australia), P. Mitchell (Australia), K. Miyoshi (Japan), C. Pantelis (Australia), G. Parker (Australia), A. Pascual-Leone (US), G.C. Román (US), M Ron (US), I. Skoog (Sweden), C. Shapiro (Canada), A. Snyder (US), C.R. Soldatos (Greece), S.E. Starkstein (Australia), M. Trimble (UK), etc.

The Latest: The Seventh Congress in Cancun

The Seventh Congress took place in Hotel Fiesta Americano Condesa, Cancun, Mexico, December 3–5, 2008. As a chairman of the Congress, Professor Ricardo Colin-Piana and his colleagues organized the meeting very nicely. Scientific topics covered the neuropsychiatric field widely. The awardee of Cajal’s award, Dr. M Marsel Mesulam, presented a lecture on “Primary Progressive Aphasia.” The awardee of Lishman’s award, Dr. German E. Berrios, gave a lecture on “Neuropsychiatry–Clinical Epistemology and Hermeneutics”.

The topics of the plenary lectures in the Seventh Congress were:

Early Detection of Neurodegenerative and Vascular Dementia [A. Wallin (Sweden)]; Behavioral Disturbances in Dementia [M. Mendez (US)]; Thyroid Axis Functioning and Psychosis [R. Bunevicius (Lithuania)]; Atypical Viral Brain Infections [J. Sotelo (Mexico)]; The Mayan Heritage [J.D. Vos (Mexico)]; Atypical Antipsychotics and Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome [J. Trollor (Australia)]; Neuropsychiatry and Humanism [R. Alarcon (US)]; Psychotic Disorders After Temporal Lobectomy [E.S. Krishnamoorthy (India)]; Conversion Disorders [B. Yeong (Singapore)]; Mirrors in the Brain [P. Sachdev (Australia)]; and Dangerous Lives, War and the Emotional Health of Journalists [A. Feinstein (Canada)].

The topics of the symposia in the Seventh Congress were:

Steroid Hormones in Mental Health and Disease, Cognitive Neuroscience, Neuropsychiatry of Frontal Lobes, Neuropsychiatry of Multiple Sclerosis, Neuropsychiatry and Addictions, Neuropsychiatry of Affective Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Brain Stimulation Therapies, Neurointegrative Mechanisms of Psychological Trauma and Chronic Pain, History of Neuropsychiatry, Neurodegeneration, Epidemiology of Vascular and Metabolic Factors in Mental Disorders, and International Health.

Dr. Koho Miyoshi succeeded to the INA presidency, and Dr. I. Skoog (Sweden), Dr. D. Arciniegas (US), Dr. K. Maeda (Japan), and Dr. E. Coffey (US) were elected as the new members of the Executive Committee. Dr. M. Gaviria (Member of the Advisory Council) was re-elected as a member of the Executive Committee.

Regional Activities

The Argentine Neuropsychiatric Association has held the Latin-American Congress of Neuropsychiatry every year since 2003. The Indian Neuropsychiatric Group has held the Indian Symposium of Neuropsychiatry biennially since 2004. The Greek Neuropsychiatric Group hosted the European Congress of the INA every 2 years since 2004. The Japan Neuropsychiatric Association held the Kobe Conference of the INA in Kobe, Japan, September 12–13, 2009.

The Coming INA Meetings

The Eighth International Congress of Neuropsychiatry will be held in Chennai, India, in 2011. Dr. Krishnamoorthy will chair the Congress. The Ninth Congress will be held in Chicago. Dr. Moises Gaviria, one of the founders of the INA, is now organizing the meeting. The Peruvian psychiatrist Dr. Gastelumendi is planning to hold a regional congress of neuropsychiatry in Lima, Peru, June 18–19, 2010. The Third European INA congress will take place in Thessaloniki, Greece, November 18–21, 2010.

Current Status of the INA

Officers and INA Office

Currently, Dr. K. Miyoshi holds the position of INA president. Dr. M. Kopelman will succeed to the presidency in Chennai in the year 2011. Dr. J. Trollor is ­secretary-general and treasurer until 2013. Ms. Angie Russell is the secretariat in the INA office, located in Sydney. Dr. M. Mula edits the newsletter, and Mr. L. Tortora is the webmaster of INA. The INA Secretariat Office, Neuropsychiatric Institute, The Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia (email:info@inawebsite.org).

Executive Committee

The names of the Members of the Executive Committee are as follows: Ignacio Brusco (Argentina), Robertas Bunevicius (Lithuania), Ricardo Colin-Piana (Mexico), Anthony David (UK), Valsamma Eapen (Australia), Ennapadam S. Krishnamoorthy (India), Robert Belmaker (Israel), Kiyoshi Maeda (Japan), Edward Coffey (US), Moises Gaviria (US), Ingmar Skoog (Sweden), and David Arciniegas (US).

Advisory Council

The past presidents, Colin M. Shapiro (Canada), Moises Gaviria (US), Constantin R. Soldatos (Greece) and Perminder Sachdev (Australia), are the members of the Advisory Council. The core business of this committee is to advise the Executive Committee (EC) on future directions for INA to propose nominations for vacancies of the EC. All members will continue to sit on the Executive.

International Committee

The members of the International Committee are expected to (1) contribute to the life and direction of INA, (2) act as key contacts for local activities of INA, ­including taking initiative to hold local or regional scientific meetings on behalf of INA, (3) communicate closely and regularly with the INA secretariat, (4) contribute articles regarding neuropsychiatry activities in their country to the newsletter every 2 years, and (5) recruit new INA members in their own countries by sharing e-mail lists of individuals who may have an interest in joining INA.

The members of the International Committee are:

Ahmed Malalia Salah AlAnsari (Bahrain), Celso Arango (Spain), Gilberto Brofman (Brazil), Alexandre Castro Caldas (Portugal), Vytenis Deltuva (Lithuania), Greg Finucane (New Zealand), Simon Fleminger (UK), Eduardo Gastelumendi (Peru), Andres M Kanner (US), Francis Krivoy (Venezuela), Mario Lipez-Gomez (Mexico), Maximiliano Luna (Argentina), Olya Mikova (Bulgaria), Ming-Chyi Pai (Taiwan), Kang Seob Oh (Korea), Ranan Rimon (Finland), Ilya Reznik (Israel), Bernard Saletu (Austria), Surachai Kuasirkul (Thai), Thordur Sigmundsson (Iceland), Patrick Vuilleumier (Switzerland), Masahito Yamada (Japan), Beng Yeong (Singapore), John Fayyad (Lebanon), Raben Rosenberg (Denmark), Anders Wallin (Sweden), Zoltan Rihmer (Hungary), Xin Yu (China)*, Yongjin Wang (China)* [*rotate-on-duty every 2 years].

Awards

The Lishman Award was established to honor William Alwyn Lishman of London, UK, as the modern pioneer of neuropsychiatry. It is awarded to an individual who has made a notable contribution to clinical neuropsychiatry at an international level. By accepting the award, the recipient presents a lecture at the Biennial Congress.

The Cajal Award was established to honor the “Father of Neuroscience,” Santiago Ramon Y Cajal, and is awarded to an individual who has made a ­distinguished contribution to neuroscience with an application to neuropsychiatry. Similarly to the Lishman award, the recipient presents a lecture at the INA Congress held every 2 years. The inaugural Lishman and Cajal Awards were given at the Congress held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2002.

Journal

The official journal of the INA, Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, is an international peer-reviewed journal of clinical therapeutics and pharmacology focusing on concise rapid reporting of clinical or preclinical studies on a range of neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders.

This journal is published by Dove Press, and edited by Dr. Roger Pinder and Dr. David Arciniegas.

Relationships to National Neuropsychiatric Associations

The neuropsychiatric associations in many countries communicate closely with INA. Actually, almost all the presidents of these associations are the members of the executive committee of INA.

The British Neuropsychiatry Association, established in 1987, is the oldest one in the world, and the American Neuropsychiatric Association was established in 1988. There are neuropsychiatric associations in Japan (since 1995) and Argentina (since 2002). The Argentina Neuropsychiatric Association had held the ­Latin-American Congress of Neuropsychiatry every year since 2003.

In 2006, Slovak neuropsychiatrists established their association. The Indian Neuropsychiatric Group has held the INA Indian Symposium regularly since 2004, and the Greek Neuropsychiatric Group has hosted the European Congress of Neuropsychiatry biennially since 2006. The Mexican Neuropsychiatric Association held the International Congress of Neuropsychiatry in 2008.

The Chinese Neuropsychiatry Summit (CNS) became active in 2008. Beside these associations, there are many neuropsychiatric groups playing important roles in the INA.

Future Direction

Cerebral disorders almost always cause psychiatric symptoms. Therefore, ­integration of neurology and psychiatry is necessary for clinical procedures to relieve the ­distress of patients with brain disorders. In the aged society, the numbers of patients with neuropsychiatric disorders is increasing. There are no doubt that ­neuropsychiatry will be much more important as society continues to age. In the psychiatric field, neuropsychiatry has been trying to deepen our understanding of psychiatric ­disorders from the point of view of neurobiology. As you know, recent ­investigations with current neuroscience have been widening the perspective of neuropsychiatry by revealing the neurobiological bases of so-called functional psychiatric disorders.

The INA welcomes any individuals who are interested in neuropsychiatry and any neuropsychiatric groups to join the INA as regular members and/or affiliated associations.