The monthly number of births in Norway fluctuates between a maximum in January–May and a minimum in October–December. This cyclic seasonality is assumed to be of biological origin, but indirectly it is influenced by social factors and consequently tends to vary a great deal. There is a secondary birth maximum in September, corresponding to a peak of conceptions during the traditional festivities around Christmas and New Year. It is shown that this maximum is much less variable within the country studied, though it probably varies from one country to another in relation to the impact of the mid-winter traditions.

The January–May birth maximum is known to be higher in schizophrenia than in the general population, while no such difference is observed in Norway for the September birth peak. It is felt that there is a fundamental difference between the two birth maxima and a corresponding difference between schizophrenic patients and the general population. Minimal paranatal brain damage of seasonal origin is suggested as an explanation.

Some recently published data on the seasonal incidence of mania are re-examined. The reanalysis confirms a strong seasonal trend in females, but also demonstrates a similar trend in males; the latter result is at variance with an earlier finding which showed no seasonal pattern in males. A simple harmonic curve would describe the data extremely well in both sexes, and the parameters of these curves (the amplitude of variation and the time of maximum incidence) are very close for males and females.

A review of the abundant literature concerning the distinction between delusional and non-delusional depressions, especially of the work of Aubrey Lewis, reveals that before the introduction of specific therapies most in-patients with major depressive illness eventually recovered; the small percentage who did not almost all came from the delusional group. The dichotomy lost its clinical significance after the introduction of ECT, as both groups were equally responsive. However, accumulating evidence indicates that unipolar delusional depressives are significantly less responsive to tricyclic anti-depressant therapy than non-delusional depressives. The presence or absence of delusional thinking should be considered as a significant criterion in the classification of depressive disorders, and the presence or absence of delusional thinking should influence the choice of treatment for severely depressed patients.

The possible ill-effects of cannabis on the peripheral nervous system were examined in 27 male subjects with respect to their motor and sensory nerve conduction. They were classified by their previous cannabis use into casual and heavy users. The nerve conduction studies were done after a baseline period of five days and then repeated after a three-week period during which the subjects could acquire and smoke standardized cannabis cigarettes. The casual users smoked a mean of 54·3 and the heavy users a mean of 109·5, cigarettes during the smoking period. No deterioration of peripheral nerve function could be demonstrated.

Historically, in mediaeval times, the epoch of childhood was less clearly defined. If babyhood was survived, all but the most favoured children became little adults and a convenient source of labour. Instances of the barbarous treatment of children, infanticide, exploitation, starvation, flogging and mutilation, abound (Mause, 1976) and until comparatively recently these seemed to have caused little public reaction.

An 18-month controlled experiment was conducted into the effects of a token economy programme on the ward behaviour and symptoms of chronic schizophrenic patients. An experimental group received tokens dependent upon appropriate behaviour, while a matched control group on the same ward received every aspect of the ward programme similarly except that tokens were not dependent upon their behaviour. Regular assessment showed that both groups improved substantially in social withdrawal. Over twelve months of treatment the experimental group improved no more than the control group. There were no symptomatic changes. The conclusions were that token economy is a treatment affecting withdrawal and social behaviour rather than symptomatology, and that factors other than reinforcement by tokens were responsible for the main changes.

A year's cohort of 690 suicide ‘attempters' was followed for two years in order to monitor further attempts leading to referral to the general hospital. Eighteen per cent were involved in one or more repeat episodes, 16 per cent within the first year. More repeats occurred within the first three months than in the rest of the 21 months, and a large majority of repeats occurred within the first year.

Study of a smaller cohort of 141 persons gave information about the frequency and timing of previous attempts. Forty-five per cent had made previous recognized attempts and 10 per cent previous unrecognized attempts. Sixty persons reported 166 previous attempts. Of previous attempters 32 per cent made two or more attempts within a three-month period.

Three types of repeaters are suggested: (a) the chronic, habitual repeater; (b) the individual who repeats several times within a short period, and (c) the ‘one-off’ very occasional repeater.

A survey of relatives' experience of coroners' inquests on suicides is reported. The survey was conducted shortly after the inquest and gave results similar to those of a survey which took place some years after the relevant inquests. Both surveys show that the inquest aggravates the distress resulting from bereavement by suicide. Implementing the Brodrick Report and preventing the publication of inquest reports in the press would relieve some of this additional distress.

A psychiatric investigation on 56 cases of male transsexuals in Singapore revealed a prevalence of 1 in 25,000. Eighty-two per cent were prostitutes and 83 per cent had completed secondary education. All were unmarried, and 35 per cent were co-habiting with men. Fifty-eight per cent had felt they were females before the age of 5, 65 per cent cross-dressed before the age of 10, and by the age of 20, 57 per cent were completely cross-dressed of whom 73 per cent were receiving female sex hormones. Their mean IQ was 105. Thirty-two (58 per cent) underwent sexual reassignment surgery. There was no report of psychiatric complications. It was concluded that transsexualism as described by different authors may not refer to the same condition. Aetiologically, these cases did not appear to be determined by early childhood experience.

To overcome common limitations in assessing the outcome of psychotherapy, the following method was used: independent assessment by teams of experienced psychotherapists; individualized measures of outcome; and videotaped clinical interviews to allow the judges to rate, at one sitting, a patient's clinical state before and after eight months of therapy. Agreement between the judges' ratings was low both for the severity of the clinical state and for its outcome. Possible reasons for this low agreement are discussed.

Ninety-six out of 137 consultant psychiatrists working for the majority of their time in the London area outside academic units returned questionnaires concerning attitudes to their work. Analysis of the 88 fully completed questionnaires suggested the existence of four relatively discrete but overlapping patterns of psychiatric practice in the Regions concerned, of which two largely excluded individual psychotherapy. These findings are discussed in relation to the education in psychotherapy of trainee psychiatrists working in mental hospitals.