THE LIKENESS OF THE CORTICAL DYSRHYTHMIAS OF SCHIZOPHRENIA AND PSYCHOMOTOR EPILEPSY

Available evidence indicates that the electro-encephalograph records the essential activity of the cortex of the brain, and the pattern of wave form is a constitutional characteristic of the individual. Therefore, abnormalities of rhythm may be of more fundamental significance than clinical manifestations.

The three main manifestations of epilepsy (grand mal, petit mal and psychomotor epilepsy) are each accompanied by a distinct pattern of dysrhythmia. The electro-encephalogram record obtained in patients having psychomotor seizures is similar to that seen in most patients diagnosed as having schizophrenia. These records, furthermore, are closely similar to those obtained in the majority of children with psychopathic personalities. Schizophrenia and certain abnormal behavior may, like epilepsy, be spoken of as a form of cerebral dysrhythmia. On the basis of statistical, therapeutic and electrical evidence, we believe that any relationship between epilepsy and schizophrenia is positive rather than negative. We believe that some of the clinical boundary lines which delimit different disorders characterized by recurring psychic or psychomotor symptoms are artificial and are of secondary importance compared with classifications based on physiological pathology.

Both normal and abnormal waves can be influenced by the experimental. This fact gives hope that chemical means may be found for controlling the abnormal rate regulating mechanism of the cerebral rhythms and thereby curing, or at least ameliorating certain disorders of the brain and mind.