CEREBRAL DYSRHYTHMIA AND PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITIES

Abstract

RECENT communications report a high proportion of electroencephalographic abnormalities among persons with behavior disorders (Hill and Watterson,¹Silverman,²Knott and Gottlieb³and Silverman and Rosanoff⁴). Their findings suggest that organic factors should be weighed more heavily in considering the etiology of psychopathic states. The chief psychiatric connotations of psychopathy are widely understood. Cleckley,⁵Darling⁶and others have suggested that the condition arises from a defective development of the superego, and constitutional factors have been emphasized by Henderson⁷and others. For our purpose, it appeared unwise to deviate from the view that the diagnosis "constitutional psychopathic state" should be made only when the longitudinal study of the patient's personality presents sufficient evidence for the formulation of a valid psychodynamic interpretation of that entity. However, partial manifestations of the psychopathic character, often considered as identical with the condition per se, may occur in post-traumatic conditions