Demo Chapter – Background on Catatonia

DEMO CHAPTER:

Background on Catatonia

• Catatonia was first defined by Karl Kahlbaum in 1874 in a study describing patients with severe psychiatric disorders(1).
• Kahlbaum and others noted a syndrome including:
  • Short stages of immobility.
  • Stupor or melancholy.
  • Excitement or hyperactivity.
  • An association with some medical illnesses and what would later be known as mood disorders and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.

(1) Kahlbaum, K. (1874). Catatonia or the tension insanity. Berlin: verlag august hirshwald.