Minkowski's concept of lived time

After a statement of the works of P. Janet, in a precedent article, the authors study the lived time in Minkowski. They expose then the notions of syntony and schizoidy inherited by Minkowski from Bleuler and the diagnosis by penetration. The notion of lived time is at last studied in schizophrenia, then in mania where there is a subduction of lived time, it is the contrary in melancholia where the lived time is slower and some times stopped.     

The notion of subjectivity in psychopathology.

The aim of this essay is to show that a dialectically shaped theory of subjectivity is necessary for psychopathology. After introductory remarks about the tasks of psychopathology in general a critique of the so-called "anthropological psychiatry" leads to the finding that this theoretical framework is not sufficient to offer psychopathology a philosophical orientation in accord with the needs of our time. By analyzing the meaning of psychopathology the special dialectics involved are demonstrated, and a concept of subjectivity is elaborated using proposals by the Czech philosopher Milan Prucha.     

Psychological trauma and fixed ideas in Pierre Janet's conception of dissociative disorders

This article describes Janet's concept of psychological trauma and the formation of rigid thought complexes (fixed ideas). This concept forms the basis for Janet's functional nosology of the neuroses, and is related to his dynamic psychology of conduct or action. It can be viewed as an early self-regulation model, because it contains a stratified bio-, socio-, and psycho-genetic hierarchy of behavioral "tendencies" that produce a more or less adaptive act by means of two hypothesized intervening variables: psychological force and psychological tension. Fixed ideas are viewed within this framework as an outcome of deficient processes of adaptation to psychological trauma. The article closes by pointing out affinities between Janet's psychological concept and modern cognitive and behavioral therapies.     

P300 and response time from a manual Stroop task.

OBJECTIVES: Manual response time (RT) and P300 event-related potential (ERP) measures were recorded in a Stroop color naming task to determine if previous results with vocal responses would be obtained using an arbitrary stimulus-response (S-R) mapping. METHODS: Subjects (n = 32) were instructed to respond to the display color of a word but to ignore its meaning. Display color was congruent, neutral, or incongruent with word meaning. RESULTS: Stroop facilitation and interference effects were observed, as RT was shortest in the congruent condition, intermediate in the neutral condition, and longest in the incongruent condition. In contrast, P300 latency did not vary across color/word congruence conditions, suggesting that the RT difference between congruence conditions originated after stimulus evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: These manual RT/P300 findings support the view that Stroop interference and facilitation originate from response competition between the relevant and irrelevant stimulus attributes. By employing an arbitrary mapping of color words onto buttons, the present results indicate that the disparate effects of Stroop stimuli on RT and P300 latency do not depend on the nature of the S-R translation.     

Delusional perception and delusional notion linked to a perception.

It is a neglected psychopathological fact that Schneider clearly differentiated the delusional notion linked to a perception ("wahrnehmungsgebundener Wahneinfall") from the delusional perception ("Wahnwahrnehmung"). When this distinction is not taken into account, it is very likely that the probability of a false positive rating for the delusional perception is increased. A possible practical aid to help operationalize the differential "diagnosis" between these two symptoms is offered. The section on "delusional" phenomena in Wing's present-state examination is then discussed in the light of these distinctions.     

Paralogic involvement of the notion of awareness in schizophrenic thinking

Summary This paper presented four schizophrenic patients and discussed the vicissitudes of some of their thought processes. The thought mechanisms underlying the delusional ideas of these patients were mostly unconscious and had to be inferred from verbal clues elicited after inquiry into the delusional ideas. It was found that the patients employed paralogic mechanisms involving the awareness of some highly invested contents. This resulted in a variety of delusional ideas. Yet, from a nosologic point of view, the cases appeared to have an interesting homogeneity in their clinical pictures.This paper is from the Illinois State Psychiatric Institute, Chicago, Illinois.     

The concept of crisis. Historical roots and actual problems of the concept of crisis

An analysis of the concept of crisis cannot ignore that it is often used in a highly suggestive way, nor should it neglect to look at its historical roots. The psychosocial crisis concept as it is used in psychiatry, psychotherapy, social work, etc. has two historic roots: one root lies in the medical-natural-sciences tradition; the other in the dramaturgical i.e. healing tradition, and they both flow together in the concept as commonly used. At present, there are numerous crisis definitions each of which emphasizes a different aspect. Greater precision, models and operational definitions are indispensable for exact research. Crisis precipitation, disposition (crisis proneness) of the system, environment and reaction of the system are discussed as separate aspects of a crisis. Finally, the innovative and constructive role is stressed which the crisis concept plays in research and practice.     

On the concept of third occipital headache.

One of the putative causes of headache is osteoarthritis of the C2-3 zygapophysial joint. A technique for blocking the third occipital nerve which innervates this joint was devised and used as a screening procedure for headache mediated by this nerve. Seven out of ten consecutive patients presenting with suspected cervical headache were found to suffer pain mediated by the third occipital nerve and stemming from a C2-3 zygapophysial joint. Because third occipital headache may be indistinguishable clinically from tension or other forms of headache, third occipital nerve blocks are advocated as means of establishing this largely unrecognised diagnosis.