Literary Notices. clxix 



mentary psychological existence in which the sensations and ideas do 

 not control or modify the one the other. Probably all hysterical 

 crises are of the same nature, they consist in the reproduction, more 

 or less complete, of an emotion, of an adventure, of a former idea in 

 a second existence which is analogous to a more or less rudimentary 

 somnambulism. 



In hysterical persons, because of the easy disassociation of their 

 mental unity, certain centres can be put into play without the other 

 regions of the psychic organ being informed or taking part in the 

 process. "This fact," Mr. Janet used to say "ought to play in hys- 

 teria, a role as important as that of association in normal psychology." 

 "The essential character of this disease of disaggregation (degenera- 

 tion ) was the formation in the mind of two groups of phenomena, one 

 constituting the ordinary personality, the other an abnormal personal- 

 ity, different from the first and entirely unknown to it." These views 

 have been confirmed by Brener and Freud. They show by numerous 

 exam.ples that the various symptoms of hysteria are not spontaneous, 

 idiopathic manifestations of the disease but are in direct connection 

 with the provoking trauma. The relation between the provoking idea 

 and the accident may be more or less direct ; but it always exists. 

 They say that the disposition to this disassociation and at the same time 

 to the formation of states of abnormal consciousness, constitutes the 

 fundamental phenomenon of this desease. 



The mimicing of other affections, which is recognized as a fre- 

 quent element in hysteria, is carefully treated in an article by Dr. 

 F. F. Gilarducci.' 



That hysteria can faithfully reproduce the appearance of partial 

 epilepsy, is an established fact. 



The study of the development and of the affiliation of the acci- 

 dents have permitted us to explain the mechanism with which the at- 

 tack has been established in two cases and we have drawn from it 

 means for the diagnosis, In a third case, the hysterical character of 

 stammering, of stuttering and of femoral monoplegia, have been ex- 

 plained by us upon the nature of the cephalagia and the crises in 

 whose train these phenomena have appeared. Finally, the study of 

 the evolution, of symptoms, their amelioration and disappearance, 

 their transitory and intermittent character, have furnished valuable 

 proof in confirmation of the diagnosis of hysteria. 



' Contribution au Diagnostic Differential entre I'Hysteria et les Maladies 

 Organiques du Cerveau ; Archives de Neurologte, Vol. XXV, No. 73, Jan., '93. 



