The research journal of brain and behavior: Can it fill the long-awaited need to showcase mental health research in the valley?

Indian psychiatry has undergone significant developments over the last two decades. There has been a significant development in terms of manpower and infrastructure. It started with the Center of Excellence scheme, wherein several psychiatric institutions were chosen from across the country and funded by the central government for the development of manpower and infrastructure. This led not only to the development of psychiatry as a medical specialty but also boosted the development of allied streams of clinical psychology, psychiatric social work, and psychiatric nursing. There has been a significant increase in the number of seats in psychiatry in various medical colleges across the country. The growth in psychology training institutes has been quite significant as well. Training in these courses involves mandatory thesis and dissertation work, which is mostly done with sincerity and hard work under proper supervision, though there may be a lack of scientific rigor on certain occasions, depending upon the research exposure and interest of the supervisor. There have been several important surveys in the field of Indian psychiatry (both completed and ongoing)- notable among them being the national mental health survey and the national drug use survey. These surveys have used the infrastructure of the state medical colleges, which generate local data specific to that state or region. The Tele MANAS program running successfully across the country is also generating massive data in mental health, apart from catering to the mental health needs of the population across the country. Now, a pertinent question arises: “Are we doing enough justice to the data?” Unfortunately, the answer is no. A substantial proportion of the mandatory research work of mental health trainees remains unpublished for various reasons. One of the many reasons is the lack of an adequate number of indexed Indian journals in the field of psychiatry and allied mental health and neurosciences.

There are several international journals with high rejection rates and substantial article processing charges, and research focusing on Indian or regional issues may face publication challenges. Indian journals in psychiatry have a major advantage- they do not ask for article processing charges and are mostly supported by grants raised by the psychiatric societies. Most of them follow a double-blind peer-review process. Despite their busy schedule and several other commitments, peer reviewers manage time to review articles. However, there is a need for more journals to showcase Indian research and encourage young researchers and clinicians to publish.

The high burden of psychiatric disorders in Jammu and Kashmir has been well documented in two recently published studies.^[1,2] The reasons for high burden could be many, including continuous exposure to conflict and uncertainty, and geographical challenges. Trafficking leading to increased use of illicit drugs, including cannabis and opioids, is another emerging mental health issue in Jammu and Kashmir.^[3] With the growing mental health burden, there is an increased need for research in this area, which may help in guiding various government policies to mitigate this burden. Moreover, there is a growing academic need of post graduate psychiatry trainees, the number of which has reached almost 30 (27 MD and 2 DNB). This gives rise to a long-felt need for a journal showcasing mental health research in the region, complemented by contributions from the other parts of the country. The research journal of brain and behavior launched this year as the official journal of the Jammu and Kashmir psychiatric society, as a peer-reviewed open-access biannual journal, has the potential to fill this void in mental health research. It should strive to tap all available research work in the areas of mental health and neurosciences in the region so that maximum research output gets published ultimately. I sincerely hope that it will evolve into a respected platform for disseminating high-quality mental health research in the years to come.