The Journal of nervous and mental disease
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J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. · Nov 1982
Neurological findings in adult minimal brain dysfunction and the dyscontrol syndrome.
This paper reports the neurological findings in 286 patients with a history of recurrent attacks of uncontrollable rage occurring with little or no provocation and dating from early childhood or from a physical brain insult at a later date. Objective evidence of developmental or acquired brain defects was found in 94 per cent. The most common abnormality was minimal brain dysfunction, which was present in 41 per cent. ⋯ One third of the patients presented a variety of psychiatric disorders persisting for days, weeks, or months in addition to episodic rage. Another type of periodicity was exhibited by women whose episodes occurred solely or mainly in the premenstrual week. Detection of both adult minimal brain dysfunction and complex partial seizures requires detailed and well informed interrogation because many of the symptoms are far from obvious and are unlikely to be uncovered by a superficial medical history or neurological examination.
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J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. · Nov 1981
Psychiatric disorders in the context of evolutionary biology. A functional classification of behavior.
This paper examines selected psychiatric illnesses from an evolutionary biological perspective. We present a functional classification of behavior-a classification system concerned with biological goals and behaviors which have biological consequences. The paper begins with an outline of functional views in psychiatry. ⋯ The capacity of individuals with psychiatric illnesses to achieve biological goals is reviewed briefly. Adaptive behaviors used to pursue the biologically relevant goals are then presented. The relationship between the capacity to enact adaptive behaviors and goal achievement is discussed with particular emphasis on the important role of adaptive strategies as a means of goal pursuit.