In the 20th century, scientists attempted to limitate the workings of the mind onto the brain by detailing its anatomy and physiology. The task of localizing function, however, has proven to be very difficult than initially presumed, with almoust all regions of the brain subserving a variety of processes and having only loose coupling of structure and function. As we know, the majority of neuropsychological tests and the brain capacities they tap lack brain regional specificity. This is a complex and sophisticated problem, that gets much worse in the brain that is compounded significantly by damage or disease. However, in the past two decades, neuroimaging has rekindled and renewed enthusiasm for unraveling brain function. Recent studies of cerebral image show “in vivo” what had already been proven in the laboratory: there are multiples neuroquimical changes in cortical and subcortical areas of the brain in psychiatric patients.Amongst the many techniques and technologies that have been developed, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has proven to be one of the most exciting and perhaps the most used. It has permitted unprecedented access to the living brain. The authors propose to do a brief review on the late descoverys and studys that have been done with neuroimage.

Sociologists and anthropologists have long been engaged to study the changes in society, over time. This is particularly true since the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, heights of history, that caused profound changes in the forms of relationships between men, in family scale and in the society itself. The industrial revolution, the exodus to the city, the emancipation of women, the world wars, the creation of the European economic community, the mass media and consumerism, have profoundly altered the social networks and engagement in which man lived since ancient times. The authors aim to address this issue, by trying to understand the behavioral changes that were needed to adapt to this new structure of society and in what way they were responsible for the loss of mechanisms of cooping, with the anti - social behaviour, with stress and depression.The Portuguese example is finally exploited, given the most significant changes in the last century, as the fall of the monarchy, the instability of the early republic, the dictatorship, the colonial war, the April 25, the entry into the EEC.

Several studies have been conducted to establish a profile of the suicidal/parasuicidal patient. Also several factors have been identified as possibly influencing the suicidal rates, including the religious practices.Objectives:Characterize the profile of suicidal behavior in a sample of patients followed in a general psychiatric consultation.Methods:It was done an analytical observational study of a random sample of 100 patients followed in a general psychiatric consultation. A survey was conducted with the collection of socio-economic, religious aspects and clinical data, and it was consulted the patient"s clinical process. Data analysis was done in Excel 2003.Results:The sample was consisted mostly by women (74%), being the most representative age group between 40 and 50 years (27%), mostly married (61%), 24% had 2 children and 65% lived in the rural area. The clinical diagnosis (ICD-9) was in 46% of cases, neurotic depression. 52% consider themselves religious not practitioners, being 90% catholics. History of suicide attempts/parasuicide occurred in 32% of patients, in the form of drug intoxication (31%) or with another method (11%). Most of the individuals said to have already thought about suicide at least once in their lifetime (74%). Only 8% had current suicidal ideation. Family history of suicide occurred in 27%, particularly in first degree family members, mainly by drowning (7%) and hanging (7%).Conclusions:Our results suggest that exists a high prevalence of suicidal behavior in this patients. For that reason, it should be done a systematic screening for suicidal ideation in this risk population.

It is often assumed that sexuality in the classical world was experienced in a free manner, without the censorship imposed during the midle ages. We also know that this culture is characterized by the symbolism and implicit messages, present in the speech, art, literature, always targeting a knowledge that would allow the spirit to achieve a higher level and be more perfect. But how was sexuality actually experienced by these people? What were their interests, what were their fears, and how were they transmitted? How did they related affection and sexuality? Using the metaphor of representations in erotic art, the authors seek to address the issue of sexuality in ancient world and how it may be compared to current affairs. Using for examples the art of ceramics (eg: the author Triptolemus), sculpture (eg: the statue from Herculaneum) and painting (eg: fresh Pompeii), the authors try to make a pictorial journey by the theme of sexuality and their role in society, as an interface between man with himself and with nature.