Adverse life events precede the onset of functional neurological disorder (FND, also known as conversion disorder) more commonly than other neuropsychiatric conditions, but their aetiological role is unclear. We conducted a systematic review and quantitative analysis of the type, timing and number of life events preceding the onset of FND in adults, and a meta-analysis of the proportions of types of events in controlled studies. Fifty-one studies of different designs, covering 4247 patients, were eligible for inclusion. There was no clear majority of any type of preceding event. Family problems were the most common category of events, followed by relationship problems. Females were more likely to experience preceding family/relationship problems than males, who reported more work problems. Family problems were the commonest type of preceding event in studies in developing countries, whereas family and health problems were equally common in developed countries. Abuse was associated with early symptom onset, while patients with later onset were more likely to report family problems. The median number of events was one, and the events occurred closer to onset than in controls. Meta-analysis found that family, relationship and work events were all relatively more common in patients than pathological controls, as were events where symptoms might provide a solution to the stressor. In conclusion, although a range of events precede the onset of FND, they do not appear to do so uniformly. This may support a different aetiological role for stressors than in other disorders, although the support is indirect and the quality generally low.

Structural brain deficits are linked to risk for suicidal behavior. However, there is disagreement about the nature of these deficits, probably due to the heterogeneity of suicidal behavior in terms of the suicidal act's lethality. We hypothesized that individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and history of more lethal suicide attempts would have lower gray matter volume (GMV) of the prefrontal regions and insula compared with MDD lower-lethality attempters and MDD non-attempters. We collected structural MRI scans on 91 individuals with MDD; 11 with history of higher-lethality suicide attempts, 14 with lower-lethality attempts, and 66 were non-attempters. Differences in GMV between these three groups were examined using both regions-of-interest *

Objective: Psychosocial trauma was associated with developing conversion disorder (also known as functional neurological disorder) before Freud, though why a particular symptom should arise is unknown. We aimed to determine if there was a relationship between trauma type and symptom. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients attending Australia’s first functional neurology clinic, including referral, clinic letters and a clinic questionnaire. Results: There were 106 females, 43 males and five transgender patients. Sensory (51%), motor (47%) and seizures (39%) were the commonest functional symptoms. Most patients (92%) reported stressors associated with symptom onset. Multiple trauma/symptom type associations were found: patients with in-law problems experienced more cognitive symptoms ( p = .036), for example, while expressive speech problems more commonly followed relationship difficulties ( p = .021). Conclusion: Associations were found between type of traumatic events and type of symptoms in conversion disorder. This will require verification in a larger sample.

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The 2nd Schizophrenia International Research Society Conference, was held in Florence, Italy, April 10–15, 2010. Student travel awardees served as rapporteurs of each oral session and focused their summaries on the most significant findings that emerged from each session and the discussions that followed. The following report is a composite of these reviews. It is hoped that it will provide an overview for those who were present, but could not participate in all sessions, and those who did not have the opportunity to attend, but who would be interested in an update on current investigations ongoing in the field of schizophrenia research.