The Psychology of Dementia Praecox

Unfortunately, to the great detriment of psychopathology—in which we are just beginning to agree upon our misunderstandings of terms—our knowledge of the normal psyche is still on a very primitive basis.

We are grateful to Sommer 9 Textbook of Psychopathological Examination Methods, 1899. for further fruitful studies of associations in catatonia.

In certain cases of catatonia 10 Sommer: Textbook, p. 362. Recently Fuhrmann has made some association experiments in "acute juvenile dementia" without any characteristic results., the associations flow in a normal manner, only to be suddenly interrupted by an apparently totally disconnected, peculiarly-mannered connection of ideas, as will be seen by the following example: dark—green, white—brown, black—"good day, William," red—brown.

These saltatory term: leaping or jumping associations were also confirmed by Diem 11 The simply demented form of Dementia Præcox (Dementia simplex)., who conceives them as sudden "fancies." Sommer justly considers them an important criterion of catatonia. The "pathological inspirations" as described by Breukink 12 On Eknoic States, who follows Ziehen, can be readily found in every insane asylum where these authors have observed them. They are exclusively seen in dementia præcox and especially play an important role in the paranoid types. Bonhoeffer's 13 German Medical Weekly "pathological fancies" probably refer to the same manifestations. The problem instigated by the discovery of Sommer is by no means settled, but until we become more enlightened, we are obliged to group under the same heading the phenomena observed by various authors, which are nearly all designated by almost the same name. Although from clinical experience it would seem that "pathological fancies" appear only in the realm of dementia præcox, naturally excluding the falsifications of memory that often suddenly appear in organic dementia and in Korsakow's syndrome, I wish to observe that in the realm of hysteria—principally in cases that never seek the asylum—"pathological fancies" often play a great part. Flournoy 14 From India to the Planet Mars. Study on a case of somnambulism with glossolalia. reports the most interesting examples.