Pitfalls and practicalities in collecting and banking human brain tissues for research on psychiatric and neulogical disorders.

It is essential to examine brain materials for the understanding the cause and pathology of mental disorders. Recent methodological progress urges us to set up well qualified brain banks. Human tissue and Bio-banking is a complex field and the daily practice of brain banks needs to abide by several golden standards in order to avoid pitfalls in basic research: 1) A donor system in which informed consent is granted for the use of the samples for scientific research, including genetic analysis and access to medical records, 2) Rapid autopsy system, 3) Compatibility of protocols for procurement, management, handling and storage, 4) A generally accepted consensus on diagnostic criteria, 5) Quality control, 6) Abiding by local/international legal and ethical guidelines for work with human material, 7) Proper safety procedures. In the present review, the authors introduced the activities of European brain banks, and discussed on their current issues, and on the problems remain to be resolved.