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A growing body of research implicates inflammation as a potential pathway in the aetiology and pathophysiology of some mental illnesses. A systematic review was conducted to determine the association between parasitic infection and mental illnesses in humans in Africa and reviewed the state of the evidence available. The search focused on publications from Africa documenting the relationship between parasites from two parasite groups, helminths and protozoans, and four classifications of mental illness: mood affective disorders, neurotic and stress-related disorders, schizotypal disorders and unspecified mental illnesses. In the 26 reviewed papers, the prevalence of mental illness was significantly higher in people with parasitic infection compared to those without infection, i.e., 58.2% vs 41.8% (P < 0.001). An overall odds ratio found that the association of having a mental illness when testing positive for a parasitic infection was four times that of people without infection. Whilst the study showed significant associations between parasite infection and mental illness, it also highlights gaps in the present literature on the pathophysiology of mental illness in people exposed to parasite infection. This study highlighted the importance of an integrated intervention for parasitic infection and mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interview with Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa and director of graduate training in experimental psychology, Dr. Cristina Atance. In it, she discusses: positions, Psynapse, and the lunch-time seminar series; increasing collaborating among universities through overcoming some barriers in competitiveness; management of the Childhood Cognition and Learning Laboratory; duties and responsibilities implicated with funding, mentor, influence on personal mentoring, and insights into and styles of research based on mentoring; core research interests of 1) "cognitive development," 2) "theory of mind," and 3) '"future thinking and planning in children"; definition of "theory of mind"; definition of "future thinking and planning in children"; "Maybe my Daddy give me a big piano:" The development of children's use of modals to express uncertainty ; and three most cited papers since 2,000: 1) Episodic future thinking, 2) The emergence of episodic future thinking in humans, and 3) My future self: Young children's ability to anticipate and explain future states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The latest episodes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict bring further evidence that this conflict cannot be understood solely in political terms. In this paper, we review a significant set of psychological scientific articles that specifically examine this conflict, and we argue that such psychological insights may renew perspectives towards its understanding and, perhaps, resolution. After having set the issue in our introduction, we proceed in three steps, which correspond to the three kinds of insights that we argue could be gained from psychology. First, we consider the perceptions of the conflict by its actors. Second, we consider the dynamics of identity and aggressive behaviour. Third, we consider the effects of violence on mental health. Eventually, a conclusion sums up these insights and opens up the debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the condition of mental health and mental health services in Great Britain in light of the publication of the green paper entitled "Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision." It discusses the moves undertaken by the British National Health Service (NHS) to provide mental health services to younger people. It cites the research report published by the British Department of Education on way activities are supported by the government.

The article discusses how residencies seem to be making physicians-in-training depressed, according to a paper published in "JAMA." It details the Intern Health Study led by Dr. Srijan Sen of the University of Michigan which reveals that the overall rate of depression or depressive symptoms among interns and residents was 28.8%, contrary to the 6.6% of adults in the U.S. who experienced a major depressive episode over the course of 2014.

Focuses on the finding regarding the correlation of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse among veterans in the United States. Number of Americans who suffered war-related psychological disorders; Important aspects of a 1988 paper by Terry Keane of the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder at the Boston Veterans Affairs Medical Center; Drinking problem of war veterans.

The article reports on a study by Colleen McLaughlin and Barbie Clarke which discovers that teenagers, who have poor relationships with their teachers, are to develop anxiety and depression. Researchers reviewed 133 academic papers to find out the impact of school on the mental health of pupils. They indicated that schools that focused on improving teacher-pupil relations have higher standards of behaviour than those schools which do not. INSET: Class conflict.

This section offers news briefs on psychology. It calls for members of the Canadian Psychology Association (CPA) to join a section on quantitative methods in psychology which will be concerned on issues such as evaluation, design and measurement. It announces that psychology student Ilan dar Nimrod is the winner of the Section on Women and Pschology (SWAP) Student Paper Award.