Premium
Psychoses of epilepsy in Babylon: The oldest account of the disorder
Author(s) -
Reynolds Edward H.,
Kinnier Wilson James V.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2008.01614.x
Subject(s) - epilepsy , ictal , psychiatry , disease , psychology , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , mood , chorea , mood disorders , pediatrics , psychoanalysis , medicine , pathology , anxiety
SummaryWe have previously published translations of Babylonian texts on epilepsy and stroke, which we believe to be the oldest detailed accounts of these neurological disorders from the second millennium BC. We now present a short Babylonian text, which clearly describes what are today known as interictal or schizophrenia‐like psychoses of epilepsy. The text includes many of the classical symptoms of the syndrome, for example, paranoid delusions, hallucinations and mood disorders, as well as religiosity and hyposexuality, which have only been crystallized in the twentieth century. The Babylonians were remarkably good observers of human disease and behavior but had little or no understanding of pathology or brain function. Although they recognized many natural causes of disease, epilepsy and behavior disorders were attributed to supernatural, usually evil forces, the forerunner of the Greek concept of the Sacred Disease.