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  • Training Matters
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How to bring neurology and psychiatry closer? Trainees, trainers and teachers support shared learning

Nature Clinical Practice Neurology volume 2, pages 690–691 (2006)Cite this article

In recent years, there has been an extraordinary explosion in our knowledge of the workings of the brain. Some of the most complex aspects of human brain function, such as memory, learning, emotions, planning and even consciousness, are now becoming amenable to study. Former academic borders between subjects such as biochemistry, anatomy and physiology have become largely meaningless, and have been replaced with a cross-specialty, integrated approach to neuronal systems. Paradoxically, the clinical approach to brain diseases has changed little in response to this increased knowledge. Practice is still dominated by the traditional division between neurology—which deals with 'structural', 'organic' disorders of the brain—and psychiatry—which is concerned with 'functional' disorders of the 'mind'. Leading scientists and clinicians have argued cogently that the scientific revolution demands a major and urgent reassessment of this increasingly artificial divide.1,2,3,4,5,6

Critical to the achievement of change in this area will be not only the opinions of leading experts, but also the level of enthusiasm or resistance among the relevant medical communities. In a recent study, we attempted to determine how receptive neurologists and psychiatrists in the UK are to the idea of such change.7 We looked at attitudes towards closer links between the two specialties in general, and in particular regarding education and training. Three groups were surveyed using a postal questionnaire: trainees (specialist registrars), trainers (members of the Specialist Advisory Committee of the Joint Committee on Higher Medical Training in Neurology and General and Old Age Psychiatry), and teachers (the clinical course organizers of all UK medical schools). The survey had a high response rate of 65%.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. consultant neurologist at St George's Hospital, London, UK

    Fred Schon

  2. professor of psychiatry in the Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Glasgow, Gartnaval Royal Hospital, Glasgow, UK

    Angus VP MacKay

  3. Clinical Audit Coordinator at Mayday University Hospital, Thornton Heath, UK

    Christophe Fernandez

Authors
  1. Fred Schon
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  2. Angus VP MacKay
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  3. Christophe Fernandez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fred Schon.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Schon, F., MacKay, A. & Fernandez, C. How to bring neurology and psychiatry closer? Trainees, trainers and teachers support shared learning. Nat Rev Neurol 2, 690–691 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneuro0354

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