The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences is a medical institution in Bangalore, India. NIMHANS is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country. It is an Institute of National Importance operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. NIMHANS is ranked 4th best medical institute in India, in the current National Institutional Ranking Framework.

History

The history of the institute dates back to 1847, when the Bangalore Lunatic Asylum was founded. In 1925, the

Government of Mysore The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

rechristened the asylum as the Mental Hospital. The Mysore Government Mental Hospital became the first institute in India for postgraduate training in psychiatry. The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) was the result of the amalgamation of the erstwhile State Mental Hospital and the All India Institute of Mental Health (AIIMH) established by the Government of India in 1954. The institute was inaugurated on 27 December 1974, establishing it as an autonomous body under the

Societies Registration Act A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

to lead in the area of medical service and research in the country. On 14 November 1994, NIMHANS was conferred a deemed university status by the University Grants Commission with academic autonomy. The institute has been declared as an Institute of National Importance by an act of parliament in 2012. In March 2017, the Government of India passed the Mental Healthcare Bill 2016, which also proposes to set up NIMHANS-like institutions across the nation.

Campus

NIMHANS has five campuses in the city, spread over an area of 174 acres of urban establishments, which includes 30 acres of an under-construction Bangalore North campus. The main campuses of the institute are located in Byrasandra (hospital wing) and Lakkasandra (academic and administrative wing) localities on either side of the Hosur Road. The 'Community Mental Health Center' is located in the Sakalawara area on

Bannerghatta Road Bannerghatta Road ( ಬನ್ನೇರುಘಟ್ಟ ರಸ್ತೆ, commonly known as BG Road) is an Indian State Highway in Karnataka. It connects Bangalore with the towns of Bannerghatta, Jigani, and Anekal. It extends for . It starts as ...

. The 'NIMHANS Centre for Well Being' is situated in a residential area in BTM Layout. A state-of-the-art convention centre located in the main campus frequently hosts international conferences, seminars, trade shows, expositions, and media events.

Organization and administration

Governance

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences is a multidisciplinary institute for patient care and academic pursuit in the frontier area of mental health and neurosciences. The priority gradient adopted at the institute is service, manpower development and research. A multidisciplinary integrated approach is the mainstay of this institute, paving the way to translate the results from the bench to the bedside. Several national and international funding organizations provide resources for academic and research activities.

Departments

* Biophysics *

Biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) are the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experime ...

* Basic Neurosciences * Human Genetics * Neurochemistry * Neuromicrobiology * Neuropathology * Neurophysiology *

Neurovirology Neurovirology is an interdisciplinary field which represents a melding of clinical neuroscience, virology, immunology, and molecular biology. The main focus of the field is to study viruses capable of infecting the nervous system. In addition to thi ...

* Mental Health Education *

Clinical Psychology Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

* Child and adolescent psychiatry *

Psychiatric Social Work Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental heal ...

* Psychiatry * Nursing * Clinical Neuroscience * Neurosurgery * Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neurotoxicology * Neuroimaging and Interventional Radiology * Neurology * Epidemiology * Neurological Rehabilitation * Neuroanaesthesia and Neurocritical care * Psychiatric rehabilitation * Speech Pathology and Audiology * Transfusion Medicine and Haematology

Central Facilities

*Advanced Centre for Ayurveda in Mental Health and Neurosciences *Central Animal Research Facility *Sakalwara Community Mental Health Centre *Centre for Public Health *Centre for Addiction Medicine *Biomedical Engineering *Engineering Section *Library and Information Centre *Magneto-encephalography Centre *PET MRI Centre *

Neurobiology Research Centre The Neurobiology Research Center (NRC) is a specialized research centre in the premises of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in So ...

*NIMHANS Centre for Well Being *Virtual Learning Centre *Center for Molecular Imaging *Centre for Brain Mapping *Gamma Knife Centre *NIMHANS Health Centre *NIMHANS Integrated Centre for Yoga *NIMHANS Gymkhana *Nutrition and Dietetics Centre *Physiotherapy Centre *NIMHANS Digital Academy *NIMHANS Convention Centre *NIMHANS Gymkhana *WHO Collaborating Centre for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion

Academics

Academic programs

Doctor of Philosophy

(a) Institute Fellowship * Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology * Ph.D. in Neurophysiology * Ph.D. in Psychiatric Social Work * Ph.D. in Speech Pathology & Audiology * Ph.D. in Biostatistics * Ph.D. in Clinical Neurosciences (ICMR Fellowship) (b) External Fellowship * Ph.D. in Biophysics * Ph.D. in Biostatistics * Ph.D. in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry * Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology * Ph.D. in Human Genetics * Ph.D. in Neurochemistry * Ph.D. in Neuroimaging & Interventional Radiology * Ph.D. in Neurological Rehabilitation * Ph.D. in Neurology * Ph.D. in Neuroimaging & Interventional Radiology * Ph.D. in Neuromicrobiology * Ph.D. in Neuropathology * Ph.D. in Neurophysiology * Ph.D. in Neurovirology * Ph.D. in Nursing * Ph.D. in Psychiatric Social Work * Ph.D. in Mental Health Rehabilitation * Ph.D. in Psychiatry * Ph.D. in History of Psychiatry * Ph.D. in Clinical Psychopharmacology & Neurotoxicolog * Ph.D. in Speech Pathology & Audiology

Super Speciality Medicine Courses

* DM in Neuroimaging and Interventional Radiology * DM in Neurology (Post MBBS) * DM in Neurology (Post MD/DNB) * DM in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry * DM in Addiction Psychiatry * DM in Forensic Psychiatry * DM in Geriatric Psychiatry * DM in Neuroanaesthesia & Neurocritical Care * DM in Neuropathology * M.Ch. in Neurosurgery (Post MBBS) * M.Ch. in Neurosurgery (Post MS/DNB)

Post-graduate Degree/Fellowship

* MD in Psychiatry * Fellowship in Psychosocial Support in Disaster Management * Fellowship in Geriatric Mental Health Care * Fellowship in Mental Health Education * Fellowship in Geriatric Mental Health Nursing * Fellowship in Psychiatric Rehabilitation * Fellowship in Psychosocial Care for elderly * M.Phil. in Biophysics * M.Phil. in Clinical Psychology * M.Phil. in Neurophysiology * M.Phil. in Neurosciences * M.Phil. in Psychiatric Social work * Masters in Public Health * M.Sc. in Psychiatric Nursing * M.Sc. in Biostatistics

Post-doctoral Fellowship

* Child & Adolescent Psychiatry * Neuroanaesthesia * Neurocritical Care * Neuroinfection * Hospital Infection Control * Epilepsy * Movement Disorders * Neuromuscular Disorder * Stroke * Neuropathology * Paediatric Neurology * Transfusion Medicine * Neurological Rehabilitation * Acute Care & Emergency Psychiatry * Community Mental Health * Addiction Medicine * Forensic Psychiatry * Consultation Liaison Psychiatry * Geriatric Psychiatry * Obsessive Compulsive disorder & related disorders * Clinical Neurosciences & Therapeutics in Schizophrenia * Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation of Psychiatric disorders * Cognitive Neurosciences * Women's Mental Health

Rankings

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences has been ranked 4th among medical institution in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework medical ranking for 2022.

Mental Health Outreach

NIMHANS experts criticized a report on mental health in India published by the World Health Organization. The head of the psychiatry department, S K Chaturvedi, said that the figures by the WHO were highly inflated. Where, in the report, it alleges that 36% of Indians suffer from depression, the highest among all the countries, the NIMHANS faculty state that the incidence of depression is much lower due to a stronger social support system and family structure. However, the lifetime prevalence of depression in India measured by the study was only 9%, and the figure of 36% was a different metric that was mistakenly reported. In May 2015, the faculty association of the institute lodged criticism against the 'Juvenile Justice Bill' which was tabled in parliament. Preeti Jacob, from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, was quoted as saying "Juveniles are less culpable and are much more amenable to rehabilitative efforts and thus should not be transferred to the adult criminal justice system. The assessments that are being proposed in the bill in order to ascertain the mental capacity to commit an offence are arbitrary and unscientific." In December 2014, it was reported that a soldier from the Indian Navy was being held in NIMHANS for a month to evaluate whether he was suffering from mental illness, after acting as a whistleblower. After the month-long evaluation, it was concluded that the Navy person was not suffering from any mental illness. In July 2013, TOI reported that NIMHANS was collaborating with the

Central Bureau of Investigation The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating agency of India. It operates under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. Originally set up to investigate bribery and governmen ...

to train its staff with interrogation techniques. In 2012, the central government approached NIMHANS to suppress

anti-nuclear protests Anti-nuclear protests began on a small scale in the U.S. as early as 1946 in response to Operation Crossroads. Large scale anti-nuclear protests first emerged in the mid-1950s in Japan in the wake of the March 1954 Lucky Dragon Incident. Aug ...

in regard to building the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant. The government asked NIMHANS to dispatch psychiatrists to Kudankulam to counsel protesters. To fulfil the plan, NIMHANS developed a team of six members, all of them from the Department of Social Psychiatry. The psychiatrists were sent to get a "peek into the protesters' minds" and help them learn the importance of the plant. In 2008, a reality show contestant, Shinjini Sen, after getting reprimanded by the TV show judges, temporarily lost her voice, and physical mobility. It was alleged by the media that the television show judges' behaviour caused such disability. To resolve her case, she was flown from Kolkata to Bangalore's NIMHANS to be treated for a neurobiological condition. Professor B N Gangadhar, the then medical superintendent, told the press, "We can say at this juncture that she could be suffering from depression. Depression does not lead to permanent loss of speech or physical disability. We are diagnosing why that has happened. There could be complex neurological factors leading to such conditions."

Controversies

In February 2014, NIMHANS approached the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to complain about a film to be released with the same name. Although initially, the institution was able to block the release of the film if it was named as such, subsequently, the film-maker was able to launch his film without renaming it, once the Censor Board and KFCC approved the name in its second round.

Notable people

NIMHANS has a strong alumni network of medical scientists and doctors, taking over many prestigious positions across the world. Some of the prominent people associated with the institute include clinical psychologists H. Narayan Murthy,

Radhika Chandiramani Radhika Chandiramani is the founder of TARSHI, a New Delhi-based NGO that works on issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights. She is a clinical psychologist, writer and editor. Her published works on sexuality and human rights have been ...

Satwant Pasricha Satwant Pasricha is the head of Department of Clinical Psychology at NIMHANS, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences at Bangalore. She also worked for a time at the University of Virginia School of Medicine in the USA. Pasricha inve ...

, Elayidath Muhammad, philosophers and yoga therapists S. K. Ramachandra Rao H. R. Nagendra, psychiatrists

M. Sarada Menon Mambalikalathil Sarada Menon (5 April 1923 – 5 December 2021) was an Indian psychiatrist, social worker and the founder of Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), a Chennai-based non-governmental organization working for the rehabilitation ...

, Shekhar Seshadri, Jaswant Singh Neki,

Valsamma Eapen Valsamma Eapen is a chair of infant, child and adolescent psychiatry at UNSW Sydney. She is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, UK. Education Eapen was born in Ke ...

, neuroscientists,

Turaga Desiraju Turaga Desiraju (1935–1992; Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh) was an Indian neurophysiologist and a professor at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). He was associated with AIIMS Delhi before joining NIMHANS and foun ...

Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath (born 18 October 1953) is an Indian neuroscientist. She is currently a professor at the Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. She was the founder director of the National Brain Research Ce ...

Ganesan Venkatasubramanian Ganesan Venkatasubramanian is an Indian psychiatrist and clinician-scientist who works as a professor of psychiatry at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore (NIMHANS). His overarching research interest to learn ...

Bilikere Dwarakanath Bilikere Srinivasa Rao Dwarakanath (born August 4, 1955) is a molecular biologist and a radiation biologist, working on 2-Deoxy-D-glucose therapy in cancer research. His current research interests are experimental oncology, radiobiology, bi ...

, neurologists

Naeem Sadiq Naeem Sadiq is an Indian-based neurologist. He is the Medical Director at Plexus Neuro and Stem Cell Research Center. Education and career Sadiq holds an MBBS degree from Gulbarga University in 1988. He also obtained a Ph.D degree in Neurolo ...

Sunil Pradhan Sunil Pradhan (born 25 June 1957) is an Indian neurologist, medical researcher and writer, known for the invention of two electrophysiological techniques. He has also described five medical signs, of which one related to Duchenne muscular dystrop ...

, and neurosurgeons,

N. K. Venkataramana N. K. Venkataramana is an Indian neurosurgeon and the founder of ANSA Research Foundation, a non-profit non governmental organization promoting research on neuroscience, neurological disorders, cancer biology, stem cells and tumor tissue repos ...

R. Marthanda Varma Ravivarma Marthanda Varma was an Indian neurosurgeon, one of the pioneers of Indian neurosurgery and the founder director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS). He was the originator of a new surgical procedure f ...

among others.

Bibliography

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:National Institute Of Mental Health And Neurosciences Neuroscience research centres in India Medical research institutes in India Medical and health sciences universities in India Hospitals in Bangalore Research institutes in Bangalore Mental health organisations in India 1974 establishments in Karnataka