Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova
January 1, 2025
B A Maksimov
In Hoffmann's fantastic stories, dreams and visions occur in borderline, twilight states such as half-asleep, intoxication, creative ecstasy, or fever. These dreams are not escapist other-realities but one of two constitutive modes of perception, sharing a common source with everyday awareness. They are characterized by hypermateriality, animation, dynamism, plasticity, and infinite productivity. While romantics believed immersion in dreams could overcome splits between human and nature or inner and outer worlds, Hoffmann emphasizes the ambivalent nature of dreams: they cause sensory exhaustion, increase the dreamer's dependence on unbreakable connections, lead to loss of identity through bodily disintegration and vampiric rapport, and turn spontaneous energy against the subject. Hoffmann suggests that dynamic balance and plasticity of spirit are necessary for successfully processing dreams.
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova
January 1, 2024
E V Gedevani, A G Alekseeva, O A Borisova et al.
Spiritual possession phenomenon (SPP) is a complex syndrome found across cultures and diagnoses, where patients feel controlled by a spirit, demon, or other entity. Current disease classifications do not clearly distinguish SPP as a separate mental disorder or specify its treatment. This review analyzed scientific studies on SPP in mature adults, searching databases from the 1800s to present. The authors conclude that psychiatric views on SPP have shifted over time but remain unresolved. SPP is a challenging multidisciplinary problem needing further interdisciplinary study, detailed clinical analysis, and a definitive place in psychiatry.
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova
January 1, 2024
D V Kurkin, E I Morkovin, D A Bakulin et al.
Depression is a major cause of disability globally, but current drugs based on the monoamine theory have limited effectiveness. Exploring alternative mechanisms, such as targeting glutamatergic pathways in the central nervous system through modulation of NMDA and AMPA receptors, shows promising results. This review presents existing drugs with glutamatergic activity and new developments aimed at improving pharmacotherapy for depressive disorders.
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova
January 1, 2020
Yu V Ukraintseva, K M Liaukovich, M O Shilov
The ability to perceive the passage of time differs between wakefulness and sleep. During wakefulness, neural mechanisms support time perception and temporal order judgments. In REM sleep, awareness of time resembles wakefulness, while in NREM sleep it is markedly reduced or absent. The evolutionary significance of the sense of time and its role in cognitive functions are discussed.
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova
January 1, 2026
F V Orlov, E F Orlova, A V Golenkov
Sleep paralysis is common among medical students, with 33.9% of 499 senior students reporting at least one episode. Most first experienced it before age 18, and 27.2% had a family history. Episodes often included chest pressure, suffocation, visual hallucinations of figures or shadows, auditory hallucinations, and occasionally olfactory sensations. Most students had sporadic isolated episodes, while 6.2% met criteria for recurrent isolated sleep paralysis, more common in females. The authors recommend that clinicians recognize the disorder and avoid misdiagnosing it as a mental disorder.
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova
January 1, 2021
G I Kopeyko, E V Gedevani, O A Borisova et al.
In patients with depression, religious distress can mask underlying mental disorders, leading to delayed diagnosis and increased suicide risk. Among 115 patients (41 men, 74 women) with depression and religious distress—38 with affective disorders and 77 with schizophrenia—five types of depression were identified, with melancholic depression most common (61%). Religious experiences varied: congruent guilt and sinfulness, loss of living faith and God-forsakenness, overvalued doubts about faith choice, and spiritual hypochondria. Because religious content obscures the disorder, early diagnosis and specific treatment approaches are needed to prevent severe outcomes including suicidal activity.
Zhurnal nevrologii i psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova
January 1, 2018
V G Kaleda, U O Popovich, N V Romanenko
Russian psychiatrists from the 19th century onward examined the link between religion and mental illness, studying conditions like religious delusion, demon possession, and 'hysterics' with religious themes. D.E. Melekhov, a founder of social psychiatry, viewed religious faith as a key personal resource for rehabilitation. However, distinguishing non-pathological religious experience from mental disorders with religious content remains poorly understood. The literature indicates that a psychiatrist's precise knowledge of patients' religious lives is essential for effective therapeutic relationships.