Psychogenic seizures

History

The phenomenon of psychogenic seizures has been recognized (in various forms) for centuries. The earliest documentations are in the medical texts of ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations in which the term hysteria was first coined. "Hysteria" is derived from the Greek word for womb, which historically was considered the organ causing functional symptoms in women. There was a belief that the womb (uterus) became "frustrated" and travelled to other locations in the body, causing such symptoms. Ancient Greek and Roman physicians, including Aretaeus of Cappadocia, described conditions they linked to reproductive dysfunction and psychological factors. Over the next millennium, the concept of hysteria permeated into other aspects of cultures outside of medicine; it became closely intertwined with witchcraft in the 15 century and was reflected in Italian Renaissance paintings in the 16 century (such as The healing of the possessed woman by Andrea del Sarto). It was considered a disease exclusive to women until the 17 century when English physicians Thomas Willis and Thomas Syndeham reported cases of hysteria in men. This led to a crucial shift in belief as what was initially considered the cause of disease, the uterus, was replaced by the brain, allowing one to view hysteria as a neurologic disorder. In the 19th century, Jean-Martin Charcot provided the first systematic medical descriptions of these episodes, coining the term hystero-epilepsy to distinguish them from epileptic seizures.