Cross-cultural adaption of the computerized assessment of information processing battery (COGNITO) for an Indian longitudinal study on rural elderly.

Introduction: Testing cognitive functions in Indians with low literacy and linguistic diversity is challenging. We describe the adaptation process of a comprehensive neurocognitive test battery to suit both literate and illiterate aging rural Indians.

Methods: Following the International Test Commission (ITC) guidelines for cross-cultural adaptation, we adapted the COGNITO battery.

Development of a Ramayana-based Counseling Module for Persons with Common Mental Health Disorders.

Background: Common mental health disorders (CMDs) affect nearly 10% of the population, with the majority (80%) remaining untreated. Culturally relevant counseling approaches can be a means to reach many untreated persons. We describe the development and validation of a socioculturally relevant counseling module based on the for persons with CMDs.

Clinical effects of a yoga-based intervention for patients with schizophrenia - A six-month randomized controlled trial.

Background: Yoga has shown promise as an add-on therapy for patients with schizophrenia. However, most studies have been short-term, with methodological limitations.

Methods: We conducted a six-month parallel-group randomized-controlled trial (with rater blinding) to evaluate the effectiveness of a yoga-based intervention in improving symptoms and quality of life in patients with schizophrenia.

Posterior Cerebellar Resting-State Functional Hypoconnectivity: A Neural Marker of Schizophrenia Across Different Stages of Treatment Response.

Background: Identifying stable and consistent resting-state functional connectivity patterns across illness trajectories has the potential to be considered fundamental to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We aimed to identify consistent resting-state functional connectivity patterns across heterogeneous schizophrenia groups defined based on treatment response.

Methods: In phase 1, we used a cross-sectional case-control design to characterize and compare stable independent component networks from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of antipsychotic-naïve participants with first-episode schizophrenia (n = 54) and healthy participants (n = 43); we also examined associations with symptoms, cognition, and disability.

Mental Health Programme in India: Has the tide really turned?

Mental disorders in India form a major public health concern and the efforts to tackle these dates back to four decades, by way of the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and its operational arm, the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP). Although the progress of NMHP (and DMHP) was relatively slower till recently, the last 4-5 years have seen rapid strides with several initiatives, including (i) expansion of DMHPs to 90 per cent of the total districts of the country, (ii) the National Mental Health Policy and (iii) strengthening the Mental Health Legislation by way of providing explicit provisions for rights of persons with mental illnesses. Among others, factors responsible for this accelerated growth include the easily accessible digital technology as well as judicial activism.

Developing Standard Treatment Workflows-way to universal healthcare in India.

Primary healthcare caters to nearly 70% of the population in India and provides treatment for approximately 80-90% of common conditions. To achieve universal health coverage (UHC), the Indian healthcare system is gearing up by initiating several schemes such as National Health Protection Scheme, Ayushman Bharat, Nutrition Supplementation Schemes, and Inderdhanush Schemes. The healthcare delivery system is facing challenges such as irrational use of medicines, over- and under-diagnosis, high out-of-pocket expenditure, lack of targeted attention to preventive and promotive health services, and poor referral mechanisms.

Strategic implants and bone morphogenic changes: Survival and clinical success in long-term.

Dental implants are one of the established treatment protocols to replace/restore lost tooth/teeth structures. Ihde and Ihde redefined concept of strategic implantology based on immediate loading. The aim of present case series was to evaluate efficacy of strategic implants regarding primary stability, quality of bone, survival, and clinical success in long-term.

Evidence-based integration of yoga in psychiatric practice.

Yoga has been put to test in clinical medicine to build evidence. There has been a steep rise in yoga research through 2010, threefold in the next decade. Despite challenges, clinicians have explored yoga intervention in several disorders.

Composition of yoga-philosophy based mental traits () in major psychiatric disorders: A trans-diagnostic approach.

Yoga philosophy includes the theory of (three mental traits): (signifies a tendency to 'goodness'), (tendency towards 'activity'), and (tendency towards "inertia"). This cross-sectional study aimed to understand the differences in the expression of in patients suffering from major psychiatric disorders ( = 113, 40 females) and age-gender-education-matched healthy controls (HCs;  = 113, 40 females). Patients were diagnosed by a psychiatrist using DSM 5 criteria and suffered from the following disorders: depression ( = 30), schizophrenia (SCZ;  = 28), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD;  = 23), anxiety ( = 16), and bipolar affective disorder (BPAD;  = 16).

Yoga and Integrative Healthcare: Lessons from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in India.

Background: There is growing evidence and increasing interest for systemic integration of medicine (synergistic and evidence-based combination of different systems along with conventional biomedicine). The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), an Institute of National Importance and a tertiary mental and neurological healthcare hospital situated in Bengaluru, India, has established one such integrative model. The present manuscript traces the history and describes the important steps followed in this integrative approach.

Can yoga practise prevent electro-convulsive therapy induced neurocognitive deficits? - Findings from a pilot randomised controlled trial.

Despite decades of experience with ECT, no single agent has emerged as a suitable strategy to mitigate the associated neuro-cognitive deficits. In this first of its kind pilot randomised controlled trial, we sought to demonstrate the effect of yoga on neurocognitive deficits. We found a favourable effect of Yoga in the domain of verbal fluency, however our study did not reveal significant differences in other cognitive domains.

Current telepsychiatry practice in India - An online survey of psychiatrists.

Context: Telemedicine Practice Guidelines and Telepsychiatry Operational Guidelines released in 2020 have provided legal backing for telepsychiatry practice.

Aims: To understand the current telepsychiatry practices in India.

Settings And Design: An online survey was conducted after ethics approval by the IPS Ethics Review Board.

Applications of Gas Discharge Visualization Imaging in Health and Disease: A Systematic Review.

Context: Gas discharge visualization (GDV) works on the principle of the Kirlian effect. It's a noninvasive, quick, and safe biometric tool to investigate the psychophysiological state of an individual, with the potential to identify deviations from the healthy functioning of humans at early stages.

Objective: The study intended to systematically document the scientific evidence pertaining to the use of GDV devices in human health and disease conditions.

The prescriptions of psychotropic medications in telepsychiatry: An online survey of psychiatrists in India.

Context: Over the years, telepsychiatry services have expanded in many institutes. The Telemedicine Practice Guidelines and Telepsychiatry Operational Guidelines (TPOG) released in 2020 have been received by the fraternity with a mixture of apprehension, relief, and dissatisfaction on the list of drugs provided in Lists O, A, B, and C. Many psychiatrists have raised the issues of having a consensus in the formulation of List A.

Perceived advantages and disadvantages of telepsychiatry - An online survey of psychiatrists in India.

Context: Telepsychiatry is being practiced in India for many years but was formalized only in 2020. It has many advantages and disadvantages.

Aims: This study aimed to understand the perceived advantages and disadvantages of telepsychiatry practices in India.

Clinician guidelines for the treatment of psychiatric disorders with nutraceuticals and phytoceuticals: The World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) Taskforce.

Objectives: The therapeutic use of nutrient-based 'nutraceuticals' and plant-based 'phytoceuticals' for the treatment of mental disorders is common; however, despite recent research progress, there have not been any updated global clinical guidelines since 2015. To address this, the World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) and the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Disorders (CANMAT) convened an international taskforce involving 31 leading academics and clinicians from 15 countries, between 2019 and 2021. These guidelines are aimed at providing a definitive evidence-informed approach to assist clinicians in making decisions around the use of such agents for major psychiatric disorders.

Perspective of patients referred to Yoga center in a tertiary neuropsychiatric hospital: A cross-sectional retrospective study.

Background: Yoga has been extensively used as an alternative or complementary therapy in psychiatric disorders depending on the type and severity of the disorders. However, data related to perspective on yoga services and the benefits and adverse effects attributed to yoga by patients with major psychiatric disorders is lacking.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess feedback of the patients who attended yoga sessions at a Yoga center in a tertiary neuropsychiatric hospital.

Development and Feasibility Testing of a Brief Yoga Module on Well-being and Cognition of Postgraduate Mental Healthcare Students in Tertiary Settings.

Background: Mental health-care students experience stress and burnout during their training period. Yoga has been found to be helpful in improving one's mental health and well-being.

Aim: The aim of this study is to develop and test the feasibility of a brief yoga module for postgraduate mental health-care students.