Historical and conceptual aspects of motor disorders in the psychoses

Historical epistemology is a useful method to understand the longitudinal construction of the movement disorders in psychiatry. Four periods can be identified in such a process. The first, extending from Classical times to the work of Griesinger, included disorders such as catalepsy, crocidism, epilepsy and paralysis. The second period, stretching from Griesinger to Kahlbaum, concentrated on the study of melancholia attonita, stupor and catatonia. The third period, covering the time from Kahlbaum to WWI, witnessed important conceptual shifts such as: the transformation of madness into psychoses; the redefinition of movement and motility in psychiatry; the appearance of self-contained syndromes as dyskinesias, tics, akathisia, complex disorders like the cases of encephalitis lethargica, etc.; the advent of functional and psychodynamic explanations; and the description by Wernicke, Kleist and others of the motility psychoses.
Source: Schizophrenia Research - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research