Main description:

Pseudo-neurologic disorders (PNDs) are clinical complaints most often mistaken as signs of known neurological disease or injuries, such as epilepsy, movement disorders, cognitive disorders, neurotoxic exposures, and various pain syndromes. They are not distinct unified diseases and in the extant literature they are variously referred to as pseudo-seizures, non-epileptic seizures, psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNEs), non-epileptic attach disorders, hysterical fits, functional movement disorders, psychogenic movement disorders, psychigenic pain disorder, conversion disorder, and approximately 15 other synonyms.

The clinical phenomenon of the PNDs has a long and fascinating history and fired the imagination of all of the seminal 19th and early 20th century pioneers of modern neurology and psychiatry; Charcot, Freud, Breuer, Janet, and others. Today it still has the power to command our attention and raises difficult questions about consciousness, volition, and intention. In the past 20 years there has been a great deal of scholarship and research in the field, and a greater appreciation of its importance has emerged. Moreover, there has been an explosion of knowledge in clinical neuroscience which has vastly improved our diagnostic and therapeutic capability. However, an orderly understanding of the PNDs has been more elusive. The most likely reasons for this gap are that the PNDs are wildly heterogeneous and are typically classified either as symptoms of an underlying psychiatric disorder or in terms of their superficial resemblance to the various neurologic diseases for which they are mistaken. Hence, PNDs, like other somatizations, have come to be defined in terms of what they are not rather than what they are.

This volume will provide practicing physicians and clinical neuroscientists with a one-source guide to the differential diagnosis and management of the most frequently encountered pseudo-neurologic disorders.

Feature:

1. A one-source guide to the differential diagnosis and clinical management of the most frequently encountered pseudo-neurologic disorders, with emphasis on seizure and movement disorders






2. Other volumes on PND have been aimed toward specialty trained neurologists, such as epileptologists and movement disorder specialists, and are less accessible to the primary care physician, general neurologist, psychiatrists, and neuropsychologists who do not have advanced knowledge in this area.








3. A fascinating feature is audiovisual examples of patients’ symptoms and demonstrations of examination techniques. Since the symptoms are behaviors, these are optimally seen and heard.

Contents:

Part 1. Introduction.- Historical Review.- Clinical Examples.- Definition of the Phenomenon.- Clinical Importance.- Epidemiology and Economic Impact.- Theoretical Background.- Part 2. Types of Psychoneurogenic Disorders.- 7. Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures.- 8. Functional Movement Disorders.- 9. Pain Syndromes.- 10. Toxic Exposure.- 11. Cognitive Disorders.- Part 3. Behavioral Assessment.- 12. History and Neurobehavioral Examination.- 13. Functional Analysis.- 14. Psychological Tests.- 15. Detection of Malingering.- 16. Risk Factor Analysis.- 17. Understanding the Life Narrative: Family Dynamics and Somatization.- Part 4. Management.- 18. Integrating the Data and Making a Plan.- 19. Disclosure of Diagnosis: Getting the Message Across.- 20. Psychopharmacological Treatment.- 21. Counseling the PND Patient.- 22. Coordination of Care.- 23. When to Reconsider the Diagnosis.- Part 5. A New Model for Understanding Somatization.- 24. An Evolutionary Perspective.- 25. The Biology of Stress and the Ignition of Somatization.- 26. The Social Psychology of Stress.- 27. Somatization: A final Product of Divergent Forms