bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Punishment the Painful Consequence of Conduct
Authors: Mercier Charles
Published: August 2008

This question of the punishment of the insane is one which has gone through certain stages. You will remember that in Edinburgh I read a paper in which I laid down three propositions. The first was that no insane person should be punished with the same severity as a sane person; the second was that some insane persons ought not to be punished at all; and the third was that the majority of insane persons ought to be punished for a large number of their wrong-doings. To these I added a fourth as a rider, that, as a matter of fact, punishment is already largely used in the treatment of dealing with insane persons. To this it was retorted that certain measures are taken with respect to insane persons, which, if they were taken with respect to sane persons, would be punishment, but as taken with respect to insane persons they are not punishment. In other words, we do punish the insane, but we shrink from acknowledging that we do so. Now there is one aspect of this question which I have put several times, and regarding which I have never yet been answered in any way, and I desire to put it again, and in order that there may be no mistake about it I will put it in a very concrete form. Our excellent Treasurer is entrusted not only by us with the finances of this Association, but he is also entrusted by his county with a share in the management of the county affairs, and it is within the bound of possibility that Her Majesty might entrust him with the Commission of the Peace, if he has not already been so entrusted. It may happen that at the trial of a prisoner—we will say supposing a man has thrown a pint pot through a pane of glass—he will come before our Treasurer, and he will be fined a certain sum of money, or, in the alternative, will be awarded certain imprisonment; we will say he is fined 5s. or seven days. Then our Treasurer quits the bench and goes back to his own institution, and finds there a patient who has thrown a mug through a pane of glass, and he says to that patient, “You have destroyed this pane of glass, you will have to pay for it;” or “your pocket-money will be stopped for the amount.”
On the Mental State of Auguste Comte
Authors: Ireland William W.
Published: August 2008

In the Revue Philosophique de la France, tome xlv, 1898, there are three articles filling eighty-seven pages on this subject, by Dr. G. Dumas. In order to appreciate their importance it may be well to give a short review of what was previously made known of the mental aberrations of that philosopher by his friend and biographer, M. Littré.
On some of the Rarer Skin Diseases affecting the Insane
Authors: Hyslop Theo. B.
Published: August 2008

It would be quite impossible during the few minutes at my disposal to deal in an exhaustive manner with the numberless varieties of skin affections met with in asylum practice. I have therefore selected from an immense mass of material a few of the rarer affections, and shall deal with them in such a way as to call for your experiences and criticisms rather than make any personal attempt to lay down the law with regard to any of them.
Notes on 206 Consecutive Cases of Acute Mania treated without Sedatives
Authors: Hitchcock C. K.
Published: August 2008

During the sixteen years I have been at York 206 cases of acute mania have been admitted, inclusive of 29 relapsed cases occurring in sixteen individuals. Of these 206 cases, 171 have recovered, 8 have died during the attack and because of the mania, and 3 have died during the attack from intercurrent bodily diseases, 12 have been discharged relieved to the care of friends, 7 were transferred to other asylums, and 5 remain under care.
The Best Method of dealing with the Pathological Work of the Irish Asylums
Authors: Dawson W. R.
Published: August 2008

The modern conception of asylums as hospitals for the treatment of those diseases whose salient phenomena are mental, and the fact that insane patients are peculiarly liable to be attacked by ordinary physical diseases, for which they must be treated in asylums, render it essential that these institutions should in their organisation and equipment be approximated to general hospitals as closely as their peculiar circumstances allow. In general hospitals nowadays the pathological department takes a position the importance of which is increasing every year, owing to the extraordinary progress in all branches of pathological science, and it is just as important that this department should be efficiently worked in asylums. Its functions may be said to be twofold, clinical and what we may roughly call anatomical.
A Contribution to the Morbid Anatomy and the Pathology of General Paralysis of the Insane
Authors: Orr David , Cowen Thomas Philip
Published: August 2008

At the last February meeting of the Manchester Pathological Society we made a preliminary communication upon this subject, limited to a description of the changes found in the cortical nerve-cells and the descending degenerations in the spinal cord. Since then we have examined a much larger number of cases, and can therefore give a fuller description, with observations upon other points in the morbid anatomy of general paralysis of the insane.
The Insane Jew
Authors: Beadles Cecil F.
Published: August 2008

A complete analysis of the mentally-afflicted Jew is far too vast a subject to bring before this meeting, and any attempt to give you the entire result of my investigation into the subject would occupy far too much of your time.
Alcoholic Homicide
Authors: Sullivan W. C.
Published: August 2008

The subject of alcoholic homicide has been so often and so ably treated in this and kindred societies, so fully discussed in the literature of mental pathology, that some explanation seems due from anyone who again invites your attention to this hackneyed theme.
The use and Abuse of Travel in the Treatment of Mental Disorders. a Paper read before the Medico-Psychological Association at the General Meeting, London, 21st November, 1900
Authors: Savage Geo. H.
Published: August 2008

I need hardly apologise to you for my appearance once more before you as a reader of a paper, yet I think it well to give you my reasons for selecting this subject for to-day's discussion. For years past I have been feeling more and more strongly that travel as treatment was being carried too far, and having often in private expressed this feeling, I think it right to assert my belief here, fully recognising that I may be looking at the subject from a wrong standpoint, and being quite ready and willing to learn by the experience of others. I recognise in myself a tendency to believe in my own experience, and thus I may be warped.
A Brief Outline of the Arrangements for the Care and Supervision of the Criminal Insane in England during the Present Century
Authors: Brayn Richard
Published: August 2008

As the mode of dealing with those insane persons who have committed offences bringing them under the authority of the criminal law differs in some respects from the practice followed in the case of the ordinary or non-criminal insane, I thought that on the occasion of the visit of the South-Western Division of the Medico-Psychological Association to this Asylum a brief outline of the history of the arrangements for the care and supervision of the criminal insane in England might perhaps be of interest to those members who have honoured Broadmoor with a visit to-day.
Morbid Changes in Dementia
Authors: Bolton Joseph Shaw
Published: August 2008

The demonstration I am about to give on the “Morbid Changes in Dementia” is a preliminary report of an investigation which I have nearly completed, and which I propose to publish in detail later.
Irrenhülfsvereine, ihre Leistungen und Entwicklung [Associations for the Help of the Insane]. Von Dr. Brosius, in Sayn
Authors: Ireland William W.
Published: August 2008

In these sheets, reprinted from the Irrenfreund, Nos. 11, 12, 1898, Dr. Brosius gives us some account of the associations for the assistance of the insane which have been formed in German-speaking lands. The first of these was founded in Nassau, but was given up on the death of Lindpaintner in 1829. There is one in Vienna which has now lasted half a century, and one in Styria founded thirty-two years ago. There are now nine in the different cantons of Switzerland, some of which are well supported. Dr. Brosius mentions as many in Germany. The Westphalian Association of St. John founded in 1881 the institution for idiots at Marsberg, which now gives shelter to 329 inmates. The common object of these associations is to help dismissed lunatics, and to give succour to the families of those who have lost their breadwinners through their being sent to asylums. Some of them also give assistance to epileptics who are not insane. Dr. Brosius mentions that Dr. Jules Morel, the physician of the State asylum at Mons, has exerted himself to found a similar society in Belgium, and Dr. Bourneville has done the same in France. Dr. Brosius observes that, besides the charitable work done by these praiseworthy associations, they have formed a useful intermediary between the asylums and the public, and have helped to dispel the distrust with which asylums are regarded by the ignorant.
The Use of the Hand in Gestures of Responsibility [Le rôle de la main dans les gestes de responsabilité]. (Rev. Scient., July, 1900.) D'Enjoy
Authors: Macevoy H. J.
Published: August 2008

The hand—the essential organ of gesture—has from time immemorial been chosen to express, in a material manner, a promise made, faith solemnly engaged. D'Enjoy shows that, through history, imposing the hand is a pledge of fidelity, a token of a resolution taken. Among some people a private seal was used, and then came the signature or sign as knowledge or civilisation spread; these are derived from, or constitute an extension, a development of, the practice of manual imposition. In giving testimony in the law-courts, in striking a bargain, etc., always and everywhere the hand pledges the responsibility. To give her hand is, for a maiden, synonymous with promising marriage. At various epochs, among various people, the thumb or the index is substituted for the hand—a part for the whole; and in this connection the signature of the illiterate among the Annamites, by the help of the measurement of the index is interesting. The conclusion is that in all latitudes, in all ages, among all races, the hand conveys the same gesture—it binds.
The Minute Changes in the Cerebral Cortex consecutive to Experimental Mutilations of the Cerebellum [Le fine alterazioni della corteccia cerebrale consecutive a mutilazioni cerebellari sperimentali]. (Arch. di psichiat., vol. xxi, fasc. iv, v.) Christiani
Authors: Sullivan W. C.
Published: August 2008

In two dogs and one guinea-pig killed a year and a half after the total removal of the cerebellum, Christiani has examined the condition of the cerebral cortex, directing his attention particularly to the frontal lobes and the motor area. Sections were prepared by the Nissl, Weigert, and alum-carmine methods. The results are given in very brief summary without illustrations.
Observations on the Chemistry of Nerve Degeneration. (Arch. of Neur., Lond. Co. Asylums, 1899.) Mott, F. W., Wakelin Barratt, J. O
Authors: Stracey Bernard
Published: August 2008

The authors first give a short description of Marchi's method, and of the chemical changes which this method reveals. They then proceed to explain the results of analysis of two cords from cases of hemiplegia.
Psychology from 1889—1900. (Rev. Scient., Sept. 22nd, 1900.) Ribot
Authors: Macevoy H. J.
Published: August 2008

This is Ribot's opening address to the Fourth International Congress of Psychology, in which he reviews rapidly the progress of psychology since the preceding congress, observing that certain parts of the science suffer from a plethora of literature and investigation, and others from anæmia. In all directions there is progression. As is the case with many other sciences, the day is near when the publication of voluminous treatises on psychology will not be possible. A comparison of the list of titles taken from the psychological index of the last four years, shows that the yearly increase is marked. Ribot advocates especially the publication of monographs—frequent, numerous, well done.
4. Clinical Psychiatry and Neurology
Authors: Wilcox Arthur W.
Published: August 2008

In this paper the author describes two cases of insanity of twins which have been under his observation for some years.
On the So-called Insanity of Negations [Osservazioni nosologiche e cliniche sul così detto “delirio di negazione”]. (Riv. sperim. di Freniat., vol. xxvi, fasc. 1—3.) Obici, G
Authors: Gilmour J. R.
Published: August 2008

In 1882, Cotard published his paper, giving to a group of cases the name of délire des negations, and claiming for them a separate class. These cases are characterised by marked depression of an anxious type. There is moral hypochondriasis—they are lost, cannot live. They are frequently suicidal. They have no head, no body, no organs, etc. All the feelings are of this negative type. As the cases of delusional insanity have become better classified, it has been found increasingly difficult to place them in a definite group.
The Genesis of Delusions and Hallucinations in Systematised Delusional Insanity [De la genèse des conceptions délirantes et des hallucinations dans le délire Systématisé]. (Gaz. des Hôp., No. 64, 1900.) Montyel, M. de
Authors: Macevoy H. J.
Published: August 2008

The author supports the views (recently expressed) of Vigouroux and Decasse on the evolution of delusional insanity. Cenæsthesia is the capital factor; a diseased emotional tone constitutes the delusional state; the intellectual interpretation is secondary; it defines it, consolidates it, but does not constitute it. The altered personality is then apparent. The auditory hallucinations, constant in this disease, are prepared, excited by the delusional state, and they are an effect, not a cause. In 1888, already most of these points were urged by him before the Société Médico-Psychologique. In one important particular de Montyel holds a different opinion; while Vigouroux and Decasse look upon systematised delusional insanity as a new condition, and consider that the patient before his illness was normal, de Montyel holds that the disease is but the development of the former character of the patient, the complete unfolding of a mental state dating from birth.
Masked Epilepsy [L'Epilepsie larvée]. (Prog. Méd., No. 50, No. 52, 1900, and No. 1, 1901.) Delteil, A
Authors: Macevoy H. J.
Published: August 2008

Dr. Ardin Delteil defines masked epilepsy as a form of epilepsy which in its various manifestations exhibits certain characteristics foreign to ordinary epilepsy, and assumes the appearance of various other clinical conditions. Those forms are called epileptic equivalents, and may be of two kinds, physical and psychical. The physical equivalents include—(1) Motor equivalents, different from convulsions; (2) Sensory equivalents, vaso-motor and visceral; (3) Sensorial equivalents (sight, hearing, smell, taste, etc.)
A Case of Adiposis Dolorosa with Necropsy. (Journ. Nerv. Men. Dis., Oct., 1900). Barr, C. W
Authors: Macevoy H. J.
Published: August 2008

♀, 36 years, was admitted into hospital, semi-comatose, without any history obtainable of the onset of her condition. She was very fat, with great pendulous masses on the upper arms, thighs, and abdomen, which gave the sensation on palpation of a bundle of worms, and which were very sensitive to pressure. With difficulty roused, her speech was noticed to be slow; she could not move her limbs. Vision was very bad, and there was marked optic neuritis. The previous history was: She had been growing fat for years; for six months she had complained of increasing difficulty in walking; two weeks before admission she suddenly lost power on the right side for a few hours; she then rapidly lost power in both legs and arms, and lost control of the sphincters. After several weeks' stay in the hospital she died—her symptoms varying but little. At the necropsy there was found a tumour of the pituitary body about the size of a walnut, involving the optic chiasma and protruding into the ventricles. The thyroid gland was normal in size, but contained a concretion the size of a small chestnut. The spinal cord showed a considerable degree of hydromyelia extending down to the dorsal region. Microscopically, there was found colloid degeneration of the thyroid with atrophy of secreting cells. There was evidence of nephritis and the ovaries were small and sclerosed. Discussing the case the author believes that the presence of the cerebral tumour was unrelated to the adiposis dolorosa, the pathology of which is obscure.
A Case of Myotonia [Di un caso di miotonia essenziale]. (Riv. sperim. di Freniat., vol. xxvi, fasc. 2—3.) Duse, G., Astolfoni, G
Authors: Gilmour J. R.
Published: August 2008

The patient was a young man æt. 17. His father suffered from a form of “phobia,” and had feelings of fear and general trembling when left alone in the dark. The patient inherited this condition. He was addicted to alcohol and masturbation. In January, 1899, he received a slight blow on the left parieto-occipital region. There was a little bleeding from a slight wound, but considerable mental shock. Two days later convulsive seizures, tonic and clonic, set in, and recurred for eight days. During the intervals he had marked hemicrania. He was sent to hospital in great fear of an operation. The convulsions ceased without treatment at once, but the hemicrania continued. In July he began to experience stiffness in the hands, with a feeling of resistance to any voluntary movement. This passed to the neck muscles, affecting first one side, then the other. On examination in October, he was found to have large, well-developed muscles. There was, however, diminished muscular power generally over limbs and body. The muscles of the upper limbs and neck reacted to mechanical stimulation applied directly or to the nerve-trunks. They responded to the faradic and galvanic currents to an exaggerated degree, and with greater duration than normal. The group chiefly affected on voluntary movement was the scalenes, the sterno-mastoid, and the trapezius. These passed into tonic contractions whenever the head was voluntarily rotated. These muscles were not so much affected when moved in other groups in different movements. The upper limbs were in a condition of “latent” myotonia.
The Spinal Changes in General Paralysis [Ueber die spinalen Veränderungen bei der progressiven Paralyse]. (Arch. f. Psychiat. u. Nervenkr., B. xxxiii, H. 3, 1900). Fürstner
Authors: Dawson W. R.
Published: August 2008

In this critical digest the relation between tabes and general paralysis is the main subject under discussion.
The Superannuation Question: its Effect on Asylum Officials, with Suggestions for Further Legislation on the Matter
Authors: O'Neill Edward D.
Published: August 2008

In approaching the subject-matter of this paper I am fully conscious of its importance and the difficulties to be contended with in dealing with such a vexed question, the far-reaching effect of which must of a necessity materially influence the financial position on retirement of thousands of asylum officials of all grades. In adopting the question of superannuation I do not think I could have selected a better or more useful one for the purpose of calling attention to the provisions of the Acts of Parliament which determine the retiring allowances in this country, and the similiar Acts operating in England and Scotland, and, at the same time, eliciting an opinion as to how our common interests could be best served in getting rid of the permissive clauses common to all the Acts.
The Care of the Insane in Asylums during the Night
Authors: Keay John
Published: August 2008

The district or county asylum patient spends nearly half his time in bed. As a rule he goes to bed at or before eight o'clock at night, and rises at six in the morning.
Belgium
Authors: Morel Jules
Published: August 2008

M. Lentz has dealt with the statistical and clinical study of criminal lunatics, a subject hitherto entirely untouched in Belgium. He shows that no serious attention has been paid to these criminal lunatics or insane criminals, who may be classed as insane, abnormal, and vicious. If the limits of these different classes are hard to define, criminological science must nevertheless distinguish them, even artificially. Seeking a criterion to characterise criminal lunatics, properly so called, M. Lentz finds it in their pathogeny, manifest in the two elements cause and effect. But amongst these lunatics occur pretty often offenders who only become insane in the course of their detention. They generally pass unnoticed, and go from the prison to the asylum.
The Influence of Sex on Anthropological Characters [Der Einfluss des Geschlechts auf die anthropologischen Charaktere]. (Zeit. f. Morphol. und Anthropol., Bd. iii, H. 3, 1901.) Pfitzner, W.
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

The elaborate and important anthropological investigations made during recent years by Prof. Pfitzner at the Anatomical Institute of Strasburg are well known. The present study deals with sexual differences in hair and eye colour, and in proportions of body and head, difference in age being always taken into account; and, from the care with which it has been carried out, and the large number of subjects dealt with, the study constitutes a valuable contribution to our knowledge of this subject. As the author himself points out, certain sources of error exist; we are dealing with dead subjects only, in a hospital, so that there has been “selection by death” and “selection by hospital;” but even when we bear these sources of disturbance in mind the results remain very instructive. A few of the points brought out in this lengthy paper may here be mentioned.
A Preliminary Communication with Projection Drawings illustrating the Topography of the Paracæles (Lateral Ventricles) in their Relations to the Surface of the Cerebrum and Cranium. (New York Med. Journ., Feb. 2, 1901.) Spitzka, E. A.
Authors: Stoddart W. H. B.
Published: August 2008

This is an anatomical study of two heads by the sectional method, special attention being directed to the exact position of the lateral ventricles. The author is one of the New York medical students.
The Phenomenon of Chromatolysis after Resection of the Pneumogastric Nerve [Le Phenomène de la Chromatolyse après la Résection du Nerf pneumogastrique]. (Nouv. Icon. de la Salp., Nos. 4, 5, 6, 1900.) Ladame, C.
Authors: Macevoy H. J.
Published: August 2008

The work is divided into six parts. In the first part, an account is given of the varying results obtained by Nissl's method of staining, concerning the minute anatomy of the nervous cell and its lesions. The numerous modifications of this method were tried, and Ladame places most reliance on the method of Van Gehuchten, which he has altered in certain details; so that, for instance, instead of washing in water after fixation he carries his specimens into 60 per cent. alcohol saturated with chloride of sodium; whence, after leaving them in this bath for a while, they are placed in 70 per cent. alcohol, also saturated with chloride of sodium. He uses, moreover, essence of cedar in preference to chloroform as the vehicle of paraffin for embedding, in spite of certain drawbacks. Toluidine blue is used instead of methylene blue for staining the sections, and gives a neat, intense coloration, agreeable to the eye; moreover it is more stable than methylene blue.
Vertigo [Le Vertige: étude physio-pathologique de la Fonction d'Orientation et d'équilibre], (Revue Philosophique, March and April, 1901.) Grasset
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

Attention may be drawn to this elaborate and systematic study by Professor Grasset, who is also publishing (in the Bibliothèque Scientifique Internationale) a volume entitled Maladies de l'Orientation et d'équilibre. The author, who shows a wide knowledge of the work on this subject done in other countries, considers it important to remember that vertigo is constituted of two sensations: (a) a sensation of displacement of the body in relation to surrounding objects; (b) a sensation of loss of equilibrium. He defines it (“synthetically and schematically”) as a “subjective psychic phenomenon constituted by the transmission to the cerebral centre of a double sensation: a false sensation coming from the apparatus of orientation, and a sensation of the inadequacy of the polygon (by which he means the ensemble of the automatic centre of orientation and equilibrium) to ensure equilibrium.’’ Physiological vertigos are taken into consideration, though the study is chiefly devoted to the pathological varieties, and the symptoms are classed as anæsthetical, hyperæsthetical, and paræsthetical. A full schematic table of the objective and subjective symptoms is presented.
Taste Sensations in the Larynx [Ueber Geschmacksempfindungen im Kehlkopf]. (Zeits. f. Psychol., Bd. xxvii, H. 1 and 2, 1901.) Kiesow, F., and Hahn, R.
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

Verson, in 1868, discovered in the epiglottis nerve-endings, which he regarded as essentially resembling those which Schwalbe and Lovén had then recently discovered in the tongue of man and other mammals, and regarded as the primary organs of taste. Michelson, in 1891, brought forward experimental evidence to show that they really were capable of conveying sensations of taste. In the present paper Kiesow and Hahn, after setting forth the present state of the question, describe their own experiments, carried out at the Physiological Institute of Turin. They tested the inner surface of the epiglottis, as well as the interior of the larynx, with reference to reaction to the ordinary taste stimuli—sweet, bitter, acid, salt. Only three subjects were available for complete investigation, one of these being Kiesow himself. Schroetter's laryngeal sound was used in applying the test solutions, and various precautions were adopted in order to eliminate the obvious sources of error, while all doubtful trials were left out of account. In all three subjects the majority of experiments revealed the existence of sensibility on the laryngeal surface of the epiglottis to all four orders of test substances, although the sensations were of less intensity than when the same stimuli were applied to the tongue. All the subjects declared that they had never experienced taste sensations at such a depth, and were able to indicate on the external surface of the neck the spot at which the sensations were localised. Sweet and bitter sensations were always easily recognised. Kiesow, however, was unable to identify acid stimuli, which he felt as salt, possibly because the end organs for acid in his case were lacking, and their place taken by those reacting to salt. The experiments within the larynx, made on Kiesow alone, also revealed the presence of taste sensations.
The Influence of Alcohol on Handwriting [Ueber die Beeinflussung der Schrift durch den Alkohol]. (Psychologische Arbeiten, Bd. iii, H. 4, 1901.) Mayer, Martin
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

Previous investigations have shown—in harmony, indeed, with daily experience—that alcohol renders more difficult the perception of sensory impressions and the associated mental activity, while, on the other hand, it makes voluntary operations easier. At the same time, in apparent apposition with the latter result, alcohol has little or no influence in increasing work done with the dynamometer or ergograph. In order to follow out the workings of alcohol in a field where its finer influence could be precisely traced and measured, Mayer has investigated its effects on handwriting in accordance with the exact methods of Diehl. In one series of experiments the dose of absolute alcohol taken was 30 grammes, in another series 60 grammes. The results are recorded in full detail in this paper. It was found that alcohol has a slowing influence on writing movements; in small doses the pauses are shortened and the pressure increased; in large doses the pauses tend more to be increased, while the pressure is decreased; there is no recognisable influence on the way of writing. These results are recorded in detail with the precision that the instrumental study of handwriting now renders possible. Incidentally, Mayer introduces an interesting discussion of the resemblance of alcoholic intoxication to mania, which has often been pointed out. In both there is diminished attention, a flood of ideas with tendency to sound associations, an inclination to arrogance, and increased facility in obeying impulses. As soon, however, as we begin to inquire into the details of psychomotor activity (as may be done by reference to Gross's study of the precise characteristics of the handwriting in mania) profound differences may be traced. Common to both states is the shortening of the pauses, the release of movement becoming easier. In mania, however, there is greater excitability, the shortening becoming more marked in the course of writing, while in intoxication the pauses soon tend to be increased. Movement itself is in both conditions slowed, but in mania with very great rapidity. In mania, also, the writing is from the first large, and tends to become larger as writing is continued, while in intoxication there is no change in this respect. Pressure, again, is much more increased in mania, and rises as writing is continued. The finer variations do not disappear as they do in intoxication, hut are still more marked than normally, and changes in pressure occur with undue swiftness. On the whole the phenomena of intoxication, as evidenced by the handwriting, present a picture of increased excitability succeeded by paralysis, while in mania no symptoms of paralysis appear at any stage in the writing process, but, instead, an increasing excitability overcoming a preliminary tendency to inhibition of movement.
On the Ætiology and Morbid Anatomy of Recurrent Insanity [Zur Aetiologie und pathologischen Anatomie des periodischen Irreseins]. (Monats. f. Psych, und Neur., Bd. viii, H. 5, 1900.) Pilcz, A.
Authors: Stoddart W. H. B.
Published: August 2008

Heredity is the most important factor in the causation of recurrent insanity, and Dr. Pilcz quotes many distinguished authors in support of this view. Kraepelin puts the proportion of cases of recurrent insanity with hereditary taint at 80 per cent., while Morel regarded folie circulaire as a manifestation of hereditary taint.
Alcoholism as a Cause of General Paralysis [L'Alcoolismo come Causa della Paralisi generale]. (Ann. di Nevrol., Anno xix, fasc. 2.) Seppili
Authors: Sullivan W. C.
Published: August 2008

The author, studying the ætiology in 102 cases (78 males and 24 females) of general paralysis admitted under his care to the Brescia asylum between 1894 and 1900, found 16 cases (13 males and 3 females) in which alcoholism appeared to him to be the sole cause of the disease. He gives in this paper a very brief résumé of the clinical history of these cases, and of the macroscopic brain lesions noted in ten of them. He finds that alcohol is capable of generating a true general paralysis, and that cases of alcoholic origin do not differ in any respect from cases of other causation. In six of his cases the disease was of the exalted type, in one of the hypochondriacal, and in nine of the simple demented type. The cases ran a progressive course without remission, terminating fatally in from two to three years. The distinctive characters which some authors assign to alcoholic general paralysis or pseudo-general paralysis—generalised tremor, slightness of speech trouble, frequency of remission, etc.—were not noted. Hallucinations and the delirium of conjugal infidelity, also said to be specially common in such cases, were only found in one instance.
Cerebral Paralysis and Idiocy [Cerebrale Kinderlähmung und Idiotie]. (Arch. f. Psych., Bd. xiii, xxxiv, H. 3.) Wachsmuth, H.
Authors: Ireland William W.
Published: August 2008

He has made a careful study of twenty-two cases of this malady. Most of his material is taken from the hospital at Merxhausen, which receives incurable insane females from the province of Hessen and the principality of Waldeck. Out of 700 patients, there were 185 idiots, 22 of whom, i. e., about 12 per cent., were affected with cerebral paralysis. He deals with all the symptoms and pathology of the affection. In such cases the paralysis and idiocy is complicated by a variety of nervous symptoms, especially with epilepsy, which affects at least half the patients, and helps to increase the mental deficiency. Dr. Wachsmuth's paper fills forty-four pages. His experience leads him to confirm the observation of Bourneville, that epilepsy generally disappears between the fortieth and fiftieth years of life. A great part of our cases, he observes, have already passed this age, and they have no more epileptic attacks. In other instances a diminution of the epileptic attacks has been observed. Many of the cases of cerebral paralysis are regarded as being the sequel of encephalitis, sometimes caused by infectious diseases. Wachsmuth does not consider the amount of paralysis is a measure of the mental deficiency. This study of the subject has induced him to divide his cases into four classes.
On Fixed Ideas [Sull’ idee fisse]. (Clinica Moderna, 1899.) Bianchi, L.
Authors: Gilmour J. R.
Published: August 2008

This is a lecture on fixed ideas and obsessions. For the genesis of these two lactors are necessary, first, an excessive condition of feeling; second, a congenital or acquired weakness of mental constitution. The difference between them and paranoia consists in the fact that in the case of obsessions there is no alteration of the personality. The author divides them into (1) obsessional emotions, (2) obsessional ideas, and (3) obsessional impulses. This is not a rigorous psychological distinction, but it is justified by the prevalence of one of the elements constituting each group. The emotional group may be divided into repulsions (or phobias) and imperative desires. The phobia may be general or for one determinate object only. Under the heading of obsessional desires are included dipsomania and certain other drug habits. The obsessional impulses are distinguished by their motor content; as these become more automatic they pass into the group of ties. Obsessional ideas have frequently a hypochondriacal basis. They are rarely accompanied by hallucinations. As regards prognosis there are two classes of cases, first, those in which the original psychical weakness is hereditary or dates from early infancy; second, the cases in which the weakness is acquired. In the first class the outlook is very grave and amelioration only results where development and education are very favourable. Other functions may through time become affected, but it rarely passes into other forms of insanity. Agitated melancholia may, however, develop. Suicide is rare, those affected being generally undecided. The treatment is largely general. Muscular and mental exercises are of benefit, as also outdoor work and electricity. If neurasthenia be present it is an indication for treatment; suggestion may also be tried.
A Study of the Insanities of Adolescence. (Journ. Nerv. and Ment. Dis., Aug. 1901.) Pickett
Authors: Wilcox A. W.
Published: August 2008

In this article, the author studies the cases of 284 young male patients, between fifteen and thirty years of age on admission to the Philadelphia Hospital, having excluded all those who were plainly imbecile, epileptic, or paretic. After alluding to the histories of these cases, alcoholic in forty-four,—although most of these he believes, were moderate drinkers,—he asks “What relations have the doctrines of degeneration with our present subject?” and points out that Esquirol and Morel have observed the tendency of hereditary insanity to appear at puberty and in adolescence, and that the latter author more definitely states that at this period degeneration reveals itself. A degenerate history was obtained in more than three quarters of the author's cases. The anatomical marks of degeneracy also were common, but unfortunately no systematic study of these was made. Obsessions, the psychic stigmata of degeneration according to Magnan, he believes with Régis are rather actual insanities, disorders of the will on a basis of neurasthenia; coming and going with the state of nervous health they are stigmata only as insanity itself is a stigma: to serve as a real test of degeneration, a stigma must be permanent. Only by close anatomical study on a large scale with classification of stigmata, can degeneration obtain a useful clinical significance. He agrees with Morel that the theory of degeneration should be kept single and thought of mainly as related to heredity. It is important not to confuse the two uses of the word “degeneration,” the one being proper to psychiatry, the other to pathological anatomy. With Jaffray he thinks that “to be insane, the patient must be degenerate.”
Clinical Contributions concerning Insanity with Rigidity of Muscles (catatonic) [Klinische Beiträge zur Katatonie]. (Allgem. Zeits. f. Psychiat.) Bd. lviii, H. 2 and 3, 1901.) Schüle
Authors: Carter R.
Published: August 2008

The catatonic condition has as much individual existence as any other form of primary dementia; it is episodic in following other morbid psychical processes. The condition is said to be caused by a particular form of cortico-psychical inhibition, combined with a subcortical inhibition and excitation, particularly of the cortical centres.
Multiple Cysticerci of the Brain and Epilepsy [Cisticercosi multipla dell’ Cervillo ed Epilessia]. (Riv. di Patol., Nerv. e Ment., fasc. 5, 1900.) Lui, A.
Authors: Gilmour J. R.
Published: August 2008

The patient was a lad æt. 18. At six years suffered from periodic frontal headaches and hebetude. After two years had vertigo and “absences.” The character changed, and he became strong and irritable. He attempted murder at seventeen, and shortly thereafter had the first attack of “classical” epilepsy. This was followed at intervals by other seizures, and he died in status epilepticus. The autopsy showed numerous cysticercus cysts in the pia, some on the surface free, others embedded in the cortex, which tore as they were removed. These cysts varied in size from a pin's head to a small hazel nut. There were a few subcortical cysts, some in the basal ganglia and lateral ventricles. The pons, cerebellum, and cord were free from cysts, as were also the internal organs. Cysticercosis produces in the brain the same symptoms as other focal lesions. When multiple, and especially when they arise in the period of development, they may produce, instead of an epileptiform phenomenon, a true epilepsy.
On the Alterations of the Central Nervous System in the Acute Confusional Psychoses [Nuovo Contributo alla Conoscenza delle Alterazioni del Sistema nervoso centrale nelle Psicosi acute confusionali]. (Riv. di Patol., Nerv. e Ment., fasc. 8, 1901.) Cauria, M.
Authors: Gilmour J. R.
Published: August 2008

This is the third paper by this author on the same subject. In this case the types of alteration of the nerve-cells were two:—First, the disintegration of the chromatic substance which, reduced to fine granules, was scattered uniformly through the cell, rendering it homogeneous; the nucleus central and unaltered. This is the usual type following toxines. Second, the type with central chromatolysis and deformity, and displacement of the nucleus. This is the type following the cutting of the axis-cylinder process. In this case, this was associated with degeneration of the fibres of various parts of the motor tracts, and was probably an example of the secondary degeneration of the nerve-cell from “reaction at a distance.” The lesion in the pyramidal tracts of the cord stands in relation to the symptoms presented by the patient, e. g. hypertonus, exaggeration of the tendon reflexes, paresis of the upper limbs. The curability of such cases is not in contradiction with the anatomical facts, as the alteration in the nerve-cell is reparable. The primary degeneration of the fibres is probably due to the same toxine as had produced the nerve-cell change.
The Total Abstinence Question [Zur Abstinenzfrage]. (Wien. med. Presse, No. 14, 1901.) Benedikt
Authors: Sullivan W. C.
Published: August 2008

Dr. Benedikt has been moved to wrath by the recent progress of the theory, especially current in the experimental school of psychologists, that even small doses of alcohol act injuriously on mental function. Anticipating that this heresy would be supported by the Vienna Anti-alcoholist Congress, he has accordingly confided to the columns of the Wiener medizinische Presse, with a perhaps excessive candour, his opinion of the doctrine and its advocates. The latter are, in the professor's view, for the most part a lot of “young-lady-like idealists,” “altruistic hypochrondriacs,” “sophists,” and so on. Dr. Benedikt confines himself to the use of these energetic epithets and to the rhetorical invocation of universal practice in regard of alcohol; he does not meet the theory which he denounces by criticism either of the experiments on which it is based or of the interpretation which has been placed upon these experiments.
Crime in General Paralysis
Authors: Sullivan W. C.
Published: August 2008

The minute study of morbid organisation as a factor in the genesis of crime which has been extensively pursued in recent years has been for the most part concerned with conditions of arrested or distorted cerebral development, with the different forms and degrees of innate defect. Less attention has, on the whole, been given to the other large class of neuropathic criminals, those in whom the morbid aptitude for criminal acts is connected with deterioration of brain, where the mental defect is acquired.
Notes on Hallucinations. I.
Authors: Norman Conolly
Published: August 2008

Although hallucinations are so common and universally recognised as an indication of insanity (Esquirol reckons, probably truly if we count every stage of every case, that they occur in 80 per cent. of cases of mental alienation, and we all know that even with the general public there is no proof of aberration more convincing), yet there are many points connected with the study of hallucination which are worthy of more attention than they generally receive.
Note on the Prefrontal Lobes and the Localisation of Mental Functions
Authors: MacDonald P. W.
Published: August 2008

About the time that this very interesting specimen came under notice, the members of the Medico-Psychological Association were being treated to an able exposition of the present-day views on the burning question of the localisation of mental functions. The intention of this short contribution is very humble, my main object being to explain the specimen, and while doing so to offer a few general observations on any bearing it may be thought to possess regarding the localisation of intellect.
Mental Conditions resulting in Homicide
Authors: Revington G. T.
Published: August 2008

It is with great diffidence that I venture to address you to-day. I have not made any scientific discovery, and in my own opinion it is great presumption to open a discussion on a subject of which I am merely a student, and on which my studies have not yet enabled me to form definite theories.
The Influence of Social Class and of Creed on Anthropological Characters [Der Einfluss der socialen Schichtung und der Confession auf die anthropologischen Charaktere]. (Zeit. f Morphy Bd. iv, H. 1, 1901.) Pfitzner, W.
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

Professor Pfitzner has continued his interesting “social anthropological studies” at the Strasburg Anatomical Institute by an attempt to investigate the influence of social rank and of creed, an attempt not without difficulties, owing to the slight range of social class among the persons dying in hospital, and the absence of any fit standards of comparison among persons of higher social class. As regards the latter point he has, so far as size of head is concerned, reached certain results, though not without the expenditure of much time and diplomacy in gaining information from hatters, in the course of which he was compelled to acquire a large number of hats. He found that while the sizes of very cheap hats range very well with the sizes of the heads of his subjects at the Anatomical Institute, the more expensive hats have a different and higher range of size. He himself possesses a remarkably large head, and he finds it impossible to obtain a hat that fits him among the very cheap class of goods, even the manufacturers, when the tradesmen offered to procure the article desired, being unable to supply the right size; but among the expensive class of hats he has no difficulty in finding one to fit him, or even one that is too large. He concludes, therefore, that the well-to-do social classes have larger heads than the lower social classes. In a somewhat similar manner, by acquiring skill in estimating the height of well-to-do persons as they passed his shoulder in the street, he was able to convince himself that the hospital subjects are short as compared with the well-to-do, and that, in fact, heights which are fairly common among the latter practically never occur at all among the former.
Pain [Der Schmerz]. (Zeit. f Psych., Bd. xxvi, H. 1 and 2, 1901.) Tschisch, W. von
Authors: Ellis Havelock
Published: August 2008

In this paper Professor Tschisch sets forth his conception of pain as a form of death. Pain, he points out, does not depend on the intensity of the stimulus; a Paquelin cautery at a white heat causes much less pain than at a lower temperature. The really significant fact is that those chemical substances which produce pain kill living tissues. Pain is bound up with the existence of nerves, and appears before the tissue is killed; so it is that it arises under comparatively weak stimulation, while strong stimulation produces death. “Those chemical substances which excite no pain cannot kill any living tissue. Every chemical agent which changes living tissue into dead arouses pain.” Thus it is that excitations like strong light, loud sounds, repulsive smells, cause no pain; while heat, cold, mechanical and electrical stimuli, poisons, arouse pain. It is true that some poisons cause no pain; such poisons, however, do not act directly on living tissue; those which act directly on living tissue, like corrosive sublimate, produce pain. Pain is thus the first reaction of the organism to stimuli which kill living tissue; it is the guardian of the organism, the messenger which brings warning of approaching danger; it announces that death has already begun to appear.
Melancholia and the Toxæmic Theory: a Clinical Sketch. (Scot. Med. and Surg. Journ., February, 1902.) Clouston, T. S.
Authors: Lord John R.
Published: August 2008

This is really a valuable ætiological study, and is important in that it contains the author's views regarding some recent pronouncements by what one might call the newer pathological school. Otherwise the paper is a reiteration of Dr. Clouston's well-known teachings on melancholia, a position as strong to-day as when first taken up some years ago, and strengthened, if anything, by the opposing and divergent character of present-day views.