Torture is considered as physical or mental harassment, torment, causing pain, injuries and humiliation of an innocent person occurring during the shorter or longer period of time.

Is human emotional behavior based on primary biological mechanism that human inherited not only from close animal predecessors, but also significantly more distant kinds on evolutionary ladder?

Results of researches indicate that aggressiveness is stable pattern of behavior in children and young people. Aggressive behavior of humans decreases over the years, although certain types of personalities preserve stability of aggressive behavior.

Psychological profile of torturer includes diagnostical category of antisocial personality disorder.

Mental consequences resulting from torture are depression, psychosomatic reactions, aggression, state of anxiety. The contribution of victimology is significant, particularly from aspect of “selecting” psychopathological reaction. It is also important whether the torturer is known to be victims or it is a stranger. It is understandable that consequences are much more severe with people who had unfortunate to be tortured by known person.

The most common psychopathological reactions are:

1. 1. Fear lived during the torture.

2. 2. Depressive reaction.

3. 3. Aggression - which may not be demonstrated in adequate manner, may be shifted to other people, which may create interpersonal disputes, before all for the victim and represents one of physical consequences resulting from torture.

Degradation of authorities in one society leads to moral erosion, and on its part, to torture on all functioning levels.

Injection drug use (IDU) and IDU-related infectious diseases such as hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections are highly prevalent among prisoners worldwide. However, little is known about the prevalence of IDUs and HCV/HIV and the availability of respective treatment options in German prisons. Data, provided by prison physicians of 31 prisons, representing 14,187 inmates, were included in this analysis. The proportion of IDUs among all prisoners was 21.9%. Substitution treatment was available in three out of four prisons (74.2%). Overall, 1,137 substitution treatments were provided annually with a wide range of treatment aims. The prevalence rate was 14.3% for HCV and 1.2% for HIV. Around 5.5% of all HCV-infected prisoners were in antiviral treatment annually, 86.5% of all HIV-positive subjects in antiretroviral HIV treatment.

Generally, substitution treatment, HCV and HIV testing and treatment are available. However, due to abstinence-oriented treatment aims substitution treatment is rarely available as maintenance treatment, and HCV/HIV treatment is mainly provided for patients with an existing treatment before imprisonment. The inconsistent data quality necessitate changes in prison related policy are needed, to improve surveillance and to generate aggregated data in German prisons. The selection process in this analysis might lead to overestimating the provision substitution - and antiviral HCV-treatment.

Among the more than 9.25 million people currently being held in penal institutions worldwide, mentally disordered inmates constitute a serious problem. Despite the standard doctrine in most countries that mentally ill offenders lacking criminal responsibility have to be referred to in forensic psychiatric facilities for specialised care, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners by far exceeds the rate of mental disorders in the general population. However, international research on this issue is scarce. The EU has recently funded a study on the overall concepts and capacities of mental health care in prisons from 25 European countries. Hindered by very bad health reporting standards, the study revealed deficient mental state screening and assessment procedures at prison entry as well as during the term or prior to release. This is an obstacle for implementing adequate primary, secondary or tertiary prevention programmes for most prevalent mental disorders in prisons. Additionally it increases the risk of relapsing and re-offending of released prisoners. None of the included countries provides regular national statistics on the frequency of mental disorders of prisoners or on the availability of psychiatric treatments. Together with a mostly unknown share of general psychiatry involvement into prison mental health care, the information gap currently prevents from identifying favourable concepts of prison mental health care in Europe. The paper presents the data collected during the study as well as a suggested set of standardized indicators whose implementation would enable to describe and evaluate this seriously neglected field.

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992-1995), the post-war period and the period of transition had significant consequences on the structure of the population, economic and social status, on the mental health and general health of the population, and the organization of medical institutions and mental health services.

On the area of forensic psychiatry, the biggest problem in Bosnia-Herzegovina after the war is the issue of complete lack of capacity for treatment and keeping mentally ill crime committers. Before the war, there existed special institutions (a combination of psychiatry and prison facilities) in the framework of former Yugoslavia. One of such hospital, something like “maximum security hospital” existed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in territory that belongs to Republic of Srpska after Dayton Agreement. Unfortunately, even 13 years after the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, such institution simply does not exist. This results in formidable fact that crime committers who are mentally ill can not be processed or convicted of classical imprisonment. They are placed in the jurisdiction of Social Services, which is neither organized nor capable of adequate acceptance, follow up and treat these people. In practice, this means that these patients are free out of institution, often without any treatment.

The succes results in the pegylated interferon plus rivabarina therapy in HCV-infected people has made an increase of the prescription of this treatment in the last years. Side-effects of the pegylated inclose the neuropsychiatric symptoms as depressive and anxiety both simptoms and disorders. The prevalence of depressive disorders has been described between 22%-38%, while the depressive symptoms between 21% and 64%. In the penitentiary field, both the prevalence of HCV and depression are higher than in general population. The aim our study is to know the prevalence od depressive disorders in a population of HCV- infected inmates treatede with pegylated interferon. This inmates in the Centre Penitenciario Quatre Camins, (n:40) were administered the following depression scales. Hamilton Depression Scale (HDRS), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scal (MADRS) and Hospitalary Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD). These scales were passed at basal, 1-month, 3-month, ending of treatment and 3 month after finising the treatment. Data was collected regarding HCV infection

(genotype, interferon dose, etc.), comorbidity, and psychiatric background and psychopharmacological treatment. All the particpants were informed about the study and ask about their agreement.

Inmates population in CP Quatre Camins (Prison) is about 1800, which 723 have positive serology to HCV. From this group 40 inmates were treated with interferon. Regarding the genotype of HCV, 55% were genotype 1, l 33% genotype 3 and 12% genotype 4. HIV Comorbidy is the l 21%.

Preliminary data about depression disorder point to a prevalence of a modertae depressive disorder in 12,5% of inmates.

At inspection of 80 patients it was taped, that in all cases the offence was preceded by the interpersonal conflict. Equally among representatives met as «acute roughly proceeding» and "fixing" conflicts, were much more often conflicts inevitable and provoked, the small part was constituted by "spontaneous" conflicts. The significant role was played by provoking and causing behavior of a victim that was shown in offensive statements or in threats to life or to material welfare. Persons to prevalence in structure of the person of erethitic lines have "roughly proceeding" conflicts is more often. The behavior of patients only quantitatively is beyond habitual reaction. Among constants factors depression of adaptive ability of vegetative nervous system and dysfunction median and stvolovo-diencefalon brain structures is noted. At the analysis of transient factors data on change of a mental and physical condition of patients directly ahead of crime were considered. At the analysis of the specified factors it was established, that in cases of the "fixing" interpersonal conflict at all patients the same disturbances of mental condition of neurotic level that was shown in development of the depressive disorders in some cases accompanied by disturbance of social adaptation became perceptible. A part of patients’ offence fulfillment was in a condition of physical overtired after work. «Acute roughly proceeding» conflicts were not accompanied by long intense relations with victims. In these cases it was not observed changes of a mental and physical condition of patients before crime.

Study material: 148 male offenders with the proved diagnosis of epilepsy, stayed for inpatient forensic psychiatric evaluation.

Risk factors could be relevant to clinical psychopathological (mechanisms of aggressive actions, primary syndrome, a course of the disorder) and different social and psychological factors such as social maladjustment (unemployed person, absence of the trade, not qualified physical work), poor living conditions, family disturbances with aggressive attitudes of patients in family and susceptibility to antisocial influence from others; alcohol abuse, repeated committing of criminal offences both before and after the onset of the disease, breach of a hospital regimen, particularly - a violent behavior. The syndromal description of the patient's condition has provided us with key data that allowed to make an opinion of the probability of committing a new crime and of its potential severity. Social dangerousness of patients with psychotic conditions (delirium, hallucinations, impairment of coinsciousness, paroxysmal states) could be found at the periods of psychotic manifestations. The social dangerousness of patients with negative symptoms (personality changes, dementia signs) is relatively stable. There has been a prevalence of situation driven negative and personality mechanisms such as affective control loss and intellectual incapacity. Assessing the dangerousness of the patients with positive psychotic mechanisms of an offence the content of delirious experience should be discovered as well and the place and the role of real persons who might be involved into the pathological delirious plot have to be found. Assessment of the dangerousness of positive psychotic mechanisms without delirious motivation requires to focus on stability on probability of the recurrence of the syndrome that produced this psychopathological mechanism.

In the present study, the effects of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injections of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonist and antagonist on the lithium state-dependent memory have been investigated. For memory assessment, one-trial step-down passive avoidance task was used in adult male NMRI mice. Post-training intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of lithium (10 mg/kg) impaired the memory of passive avoidance task. Pre-test administration of the same dose of the drug (10 mg/kg) restored impairment of memory by lithium given after training. This is known as state-dependent memory. In addition, pre-test administration of both NMDA receptor agonist (NMDA; 0.01 and 0.1 ng/mouse, i.c.v.) and the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801 (0.1 and 0.5 mg/mouse, i.c.v) also restored impairment of memory induced by post-training lithium. On the other hand, pre-test co-administration of ineffective dose of NMDA (0.001 ng/mouse, i.c.v.) or MK-801 (0.001 mg/mouse, i.c.v) with lower doses of lithium (1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg, i.p.) increased the restoration of memory by lithium. The results suggest that NMDA receptors are involved, at least partly, in the lithium state-dependent memory of passive avoidance task.

The cognitive interview is a very powerful technique to facilitate the recall of eye witness, so far it was used only in forensic psychology.

The cognitive interview focuses on two major component of testimony: memory and comunication. The core memory priciple of this technique is the notion of guided retrieval. Because all of the relevant information resides in the eye mind, the goal is to assist her to access that. Each person is the Eye Witness of own Traumatic experiences. The Cognitive Interview enhances memory by:assisting the doctor to infer the patient"s mental representation of the event,suggesting techniquesto ensure that the patient becomes the central personality of the interview and providing retrieval strategies to facilitate the person"s accessing specific memories.

in this study we apply this technique in the clinical setting to improve the retrieval of the patient"s traumatic experiences.

We considered two classes of subjects (age and sex mached), assessed with psychopatological rating scales:

1. 1. using cognitive interview

2. 2. using structured interview

Corticobasal degeneration is a rare neurodegenerative disorder affecting both cortex and basal ganglia with clinical and underlying pathological heterogeneity. Although motor features of CBD were emphasized in earlier descriptions psychiatric symptoms, including cognitive impairment and mood disorders, have been consistently reported during the course of the disease. Clinical diagnosis of CBD is challenging and can be difficult to differentiate from other neuropsychiatric disorders with overlapping features. This can lead to significant underdiagnosis of CBD particularly during its early stages.

We report a case of a 48 year-old female patient presenting with insidious orofacial dystonia co-occurring with depression which remained controlled for five years. Later, while experiencing major psycho-social stress factors, she presented with a rapidly progressive clinical syndrome compatible with the diagnosis of cortico-basal degeneration with severe motor, cognitive and behavioural symptoms, including alien limb phenomenon, nonfluent aphasia and personality changes. Neuropsychological assessment revealed significant frontal lobe dysfunction and SPECT imaging showed asymetrical fronto-parietal hypoperfusion.

This case illustrates the difficulties in the clinical diagnosis of CBD both in early and late stages due to its clinical overlap with mood and movement disorders as well as with Fronto-Temporal Dementia. At the same time, it highlights the influence of psycho-social stress factors in the manifestation of degenerative disorders.

The boundaries of simulation and dissociative amnesia are thin and not rarely unclear. Diagnostic criteria and a thorough clinical history are sometimes not enough to shed light on the nature and essence of one's will and conduct. Throughout history, psychiatry has been challenged to testify before society over patients’ truth and deceit. Do they share common grounds or must we accept that uncertainty is the inevitable price of truth?

The authors present a clinical case of a young man coming to the emergency services with multiple lacerations in the upper abdomen and limbs, referring “amnesia” for the last five years of his life. The patient had no previous psychiatric record or any known family or social dysfunction. Approach, management and diagnosis are discussed.