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History of Psychiatry recent issues

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Book Review: Rhodri Hayward (2007) Resisting History: Religious Transcendence and the Invention of the Unconscious (Manchester: Manchester University Press). Pp. xi + 147. {pound}40.00. ISBN 978-0-7190-7414-1November 17 2008

Psychosurgery in Italy, 1936--39November 17 2008

In 1936 Egas Moniz introduced a new method for treating mental illness — psychosurgery. This new procedure was taken up immediately in a number of countries, including Italy. In most countries its introduction was slow and the numbers of operations were in single figures, but in Italy the introduction was rapid and around a dozen neuropsychiatrists reported much higher numbers of operations performed. Also in Italy the first innovations to the technique, notably the transorbital variation, were introduced. Moreover, all these activities took place without any sign of the protest seen elsewhere. Conditions that allowed the acceptance of this risky procedure seemed to be a consequence of the way in which the professions of neurology and psychiatry had been merged in Italy.

Asylum and community: the Athens Lunatic Asylum in nineteenth-century OhioNovember 17 2008

This paper examines the role of the village of Athens, Ohio, USA, in the founding and operation of the Athens Lunatic Asylum during the nineteenth century. Taking as its sources official, personal and popular culture documents, the paper focuses on the function of this Asylum as a participant in the economy of its surrounding community. The Athens Lunatic Asylum was deeply connected with its community, functioning as a market for local goods and services as well as an employer. Connections between the Asylum and the community were supported by a physical infrastructure of transportation and utilities as well as a political infrastructure that operated locally and at the state level. Implications for mental health care and for community are proposed.

Book Review: Susan K. Morrissey (2007) Suicide and the Body Politic in Imperial Russia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). Pp. xv + 384. {pound}55.00. ISBN 978-0-521-86545-6November 17 2008

The introduction of the concept of dementia praecox into Spain, 1902--19November 17 2008

Edited by Dr Tom Dening

Modern psychiatry has been shaped by Emil Kraepelin's nosological revolution. Historiography, accordingly, has taken an interest in how his ideas on psychiatry were introduced in different countries. This article will analyse the introduction of dementia praecox into Spanish psychiatry and its relationship with the theoretical debate taking place there at the time in the context of Spanish psychiatric care and institutions.