The concept of ‘atypical psychoses’: Special reference to its development in Japan
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences February 1, 1996 DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1819.1996.tb01656.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 49 |
| Key findings | Argues that European and US concepts of atypical psychoses (bouffée délirante, cycloid, reactive, and acute schizoaffective psychoses) converge on acute onset, polymorphic symptoms, and good prognosis, distinguishing them from typical schizophrenia. The Japanese concept, influenced by Mitsuda, holds that atypical psychoses are genetically distinct from typical schizophrenia and manic-depressive psychosis, emphasize altered consciousness, and sit nosologically between schizophrenia, manic-depressive psychosis, and epilepsy. |
Abstract
Reviewing the development of concepts of 'atypical' psychoses in European countries and in the United States shows that there are various terminologies which are given to a group of psychoses unclassifiable within Kraepelinian dichotomy. Bouffée délirante (French school), cycloid psychoses (Leonhard, Perris), reactive psychoses (Scandinavian school) and acute schizoaffective psychoses (Kasanin) are the most common terms. These are consistent in terms of acute onset, polymorphic symptomatology and good prognosis, and are considered to be distinct from major psychoses, especially from typical schizophrenia. The concept atypical psychoses in Japan was developed under the influence of Mitsuda's clinico-genetic studies. According to Mitsuda, atypical psychoses are not mere phenotypical variants of typical schizophrenia and manic-depressive psychosis (MDP) but belong to a genetically different category and are probably heterogeneous. The characteristic features in the Japanese concept of atypical psychoses emphasizes the alteration of consciousness in symptomatology and pays attention to the nosological relationship with epilepsy, as well as with schizophrenia and MDP. Thus, in Japan it is generally considered that atypical psychoses are independent of 'typical' major psychoses and are located nosologically in the border area between typical schizophrenia, MDP and epilepsy.