Nature is the most frequently cited interdisciplinary science journal globally; however, it has recently begun publishing impressive reviews and special topics in the fields of mental health and psychiatric disorders. An editorial entitled,“A decade for psychiatric disorders”was published on the first page of the first 2010 issue of Nature. This editorial was a significantly symbolic publication ; not only did it have an impressive title,but also consisted of precise and appropriate content in accordance with the present conditions and future perspectives of psychiatric disorders. This was of further significance as it was published on the first page of the first 2010 issue. In this report, we review an interview with the author of the editorial and the editor-in-chief of Nature, Dr. Philip Campbell. He explained to us the reason for Nature increasingly publishing articles in the fields of mental health and psychiatric disorders, and the reason for this editorial being published in this impressive space. He opined that, although the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders has been gradually revealed through scientific progress in most research fields,a big gap remains between cancer and psychiatric disorders with regard to health policy and research conditions. The entire editorial team of Nature believed that they could contribute in some way to bridge this gap. He was of the opinion that the media should be apprised with appropriate information on psychiatric disorders by mental health researchers in order to dispel the stigma associated with these disorders and create awareness of the importance of mental health among the public. He drew our attention to the recent brilliant progress in neuroscience research and the future perspectives of mental health research ; this trend was notably observed in recent articles in Nature. The concluding sentence in “A decade for psychiatric disorders”is,“Yet the exposure of many psychiatrists to contemporary biology is shallow at best. That, too, will need to change over the next decade.” Therefore, psychiatrists have to pay close attention not only to the problem of stigma,but also to the scientific progress in psychiatric disorders, and, thus, need to change their thoughts and attitudes.
Interview with the Editor-in-chief of Nature―A Decade for Psychiatrie Disorders―
1 Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo
2 Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
3 Department of Youth Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo
4 The Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
2 Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science
3 Department of Youth Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, the University of Tokyo
4 The Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London
Psychiatria et Neurologia Japonica
114: 508-516, 2012
Accepted in revised form: 4 February 2012.
Accepted in revised form: 4 February 2012.
<Keywords:mental health policy, psychiatric disorders, schizophrenia, stigma, Media>