Description
Book SynopsisDuring the 20th century, catatonia all but dropped off the agenda of mainstream psychiatric research. However, several dedicated research groups, represented in this volume, continued to report original data highlighting catatonia as a relevant and ideal subject for clinical study. This book, which exemplifies the unparalleled breadth of the knowledge gained, will benefit clinicians managing catatonic phenomena as well as researchers interested in pursuing further investigations.
This book covers in great detail the psychopathology and neurobiology of catatonia, focusing on the history, epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis and treatment of the disorder. This comprehensive volume
• Offers a wide representation of the historical and worldwide literature on the many variants of catatonia in a single, well-organized text.
• Includes work presented by the original investigators, many of whom work outside the United States and have had their previous studies published only in non-English journals.
• Covers alternative opinions and perspectives on catatonia, contributing novel and illuminating perspectives on the syndrome.
• Addresses areas of controversy—including disagreements over treatment and the nosologic status of catatonia—head-on, in a balanced, evidence-based presentation.
• Balances practical clinical material with the underlying neurobiology, presenting clinical aspects in the context of history, epidemiology, cross-cultural perspectives, and neurobiological findings and highlighting the richness and intellectual attraction of the study of the disorder.
Catatonia is unique in offering a diverse, international group of contributors and such a comprehensive, up-to-date review of the clinical and scientific literature, spanning the breadth of contemporary understanding about the nature, meaning, and importance of the syndrome.
Trade ReviewCatatonia: From Psychopathology to Neurobiology is an excellent small volume on a (of late) neglected topic. It is an edited book with some 29 contributors, but it doesn't suffer from the problems that many such works do. Authors in one chapter frequently refer (accurately) to the contents of another chapter, as if the various authors had actually read the contributions of the others, which, clearly, they did. It actually has the flow of a single-authored work but with the advantage that experts in each area have authored the corresponding chapters.
* Journal of Clinical Psychiatry *
The book has an evocative cover, a comprehensive bibliography for each chapter, user-friendly tables and figures, and an effective index. All in all, this small volume packs a lot of punch and will prove to be a very useful addition to every psychiatrist's library.
* Psychosomatics *
Table of ContentsContributors
Preface
Chapter 1. History
Chapter 2. Epidemiology
Chapter 3. Nosology
Chapter 4. Clinical examination
Chapter 5. Standardized instruments
Chapter 6. Laboratory findings
Chapter 7. Neuroimaging and neurophysiology
Chapter 8. Periodic catatonia
Chapter 9. Malignant catatonia
Chapter 10. Medical catatonia
Chapter 11. Drug-induced catatonia
Chapter 12. Pharmacotherapy
Chapter 13. Convulsive therapy
Chapter 14. Prognosis and complications
Chapter 15. Genetics
Chapter 16. Animal models
Chapter 17. Brain evolution and the meaning of catatonia
Index
