a different approach to psychiatry: professor gray's view

this article starts with a brief educational beckground and achivements of professor gray, head of the department of psychology, institute of psychiatry, university of london. gray's long standing research leads him to a neuropsychological framework for the classification of psychiatric disorder. gray believes psychiatry is a branch of medicine and is concerned with behaviour disorder and psychological processes that underlie this behaviour. psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, panic, depression, schizophernia and obsessive-compulsive disorders are discussed in the light of disturbance of particular behavioural system or interaction between these systems as well as the contribution of each system in producing symptoms and signs. the three behavioural systems which regulate our behaviour are: behavioural inhibition system (bls), light-fight system (ffs) and behavioural approach system (bas). all these systems have been described on behavioural / anatomo – functional and cognitive level. programming and control of motor behaviour is regulated by learned comparison, anticipation of current state of perceptual world, possible events, preduction of next step, and the role of each system in the smooth running of plan of behaviour. amygdala as a centre for coordination and its role in psychiatric disturbance is dis cussed.