• DOI:10.1007/BF01563408
• Corpus ID: 33819397

Mental states in chronic encephalitis

@article{D2005MentalSI,
  title={Mental states in chronic encephalitis},
  author={Walter Bromberg M. D.},
  journal={Psychiatric Quarterly},
  year={2005},
  volume={4},
  pages={537-566}
}

• Walter Bromberg M. D.
• Published 2005
• Psychology, Medicine
• Psychiatric Quarterly

The importance of the psychiatric reactions in chronic encephalitis is becoming greater, as an increasing number of patients are found who develop abnormal mental states comparatively late in the course of their disease. This has led to the belief that the presentation of our group of 135 cases of psychosis with chronic encephalitis* might prove of interest to clinical psychiatrists either in private practice, hospital clinics, or in state or private institutions. From a less practical point of view, the close analogy between these mental cases and the so-called functional psychoses raises questions of tremendous theoretical, as well as diagnostic and prognostic importance. Thus Schilder 1 and Powitzkaja ~ have dealt with the problem of the influence of organic lesions on psychic symptoms; Jelliffe 8 has discussed the question from a different angle. The forensic aspects are likewise of interest and importance; Langen" observed a case of homicide in an encephalitic, and Rossi ~ has discussed the question through the consideration of the various types of antisocial acts perpetrated by encephalitic patients. In our series there are several patients who committed felonies, such as burglary, rape, grand larceny, etc. A final justification for this study is the fact that scant attention has been paid to adult reaction types in the literature of this country, compared with the numerous publications dealing with the behavior disturbances in children following chronic encephalitis. Material. The 135 patients studied include all the admissions diagnosed as "Psychosis with Chronic Encephalitis" admitted to the Manhattan State Hospital from 1920 up to the beginning of 1930. Of the entire group 71 were examined by the writer, the remainder being studied from the hospital records. In 1921 Kirby and Davis e reported 18 of these cases ; in 1926 Folsom' reported 71 additional cases, but from another point of view than the one presented here. In every case the diagnosis was made certain by the presence of characteristic neurologic signs of chronic encephalitis