A cursing brain? : the histories of Tourette syndrome / Howard I. Kushner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kushner, Howard I.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tourette syndrome--History.

Tourette syndrome.

Tic disorders.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii ) ill., ports.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 1999.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This text traces the problematic classification through three distinct but overlapping stories: that of the claims of medical knowledge, that of patients' experiences, and that of cultural expectations and assumptions.

In the mid-19th century, a French physician reported the bizarre behaviour of a young aristocratic woman who would suddenly, without warning, erupt in a startling fit of obscene shouts and curses. Tourette syndrome is a set of behavours, including recurrent ticcing and involuntary shouting (sometimes cursing) as well as obsessive-compulsive actions. The history of this syndrome, as described in this text, reveals how cultural and medical assumptions have determined and radically altered its characterization and treatment from the early-19th century to the late 1990's.;This text traces the problematic classification through three distinct but overlapping stories: that of the claims of medical knowledge, that of patients' experiences, and that of cultural expectations and assumptions. Earlier research asserted that the bizarre ticcing and impromptu vocalizations were psychological - resulting from sustained bad habits or lack of self-control. However, now patients exhibiting these behaviours are seen as suffering from a neurological disease and generally are treated with drug therapy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Note on Terms

1. An Elusive Syndrome

2. The Case of the Cursing Marquise

3. A Disputed Illness

4. The Case of “O.” and the Emergence of Psychoanalysis

5. Competing Claims

6. The Disappearance of Tic Illness

7. Margaret Mahler and the Tic Syndrome

8. Haloperidol and the Persistence of the Psychogenic Frame

9. The French Resistance

10. The Triumph of the Organic Narrative

11. Clashing Cultural Conceptions

12. Clinical Lessons

Glossary

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [229]-290) and index.

ISBN:

9780674039865

0674039866

OCLC:

923109760