The Psychology of Dementia Praecox

Similar sudden invasions of changed psychological activity I observed in a very clear case of hysteria 15 On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena., and recently I could again confirm it in a similar case. Finally, as I have shown, sudden disturbances of association by the incursion of seemingly strange connections of ideas also appear in the normal 16 Diagnostic Association Studies, IV Contribution.. In the saltatory association or “pathological fancy,” we are perhaps dealing with a widely disseminated psychical phenomenon, and without further discussion, we can agree with Sommer that the most marked type appears in dementia præcox.

Sommer, in examining the associations of catatonics, found numerous sound associations and stereotypies. By stereotypies, we mean frequent repetitions of former reactions. In our examinations, we simply name it “repetitions.” The reaction time showed enormous fluctuations.

In 1902, Ragnar Vogt 17 On the Psychology of Catatonic Symptoms. again took up the problem of the catatonic consciousness. He proceeded from the Müller-Pilzecker investigations 18 Journal of Psychology and Physiology of the Sense Organs, 1901. by considering mainly their observations about “perseveration.” The continuation of psychic processes or their correlates, even after being replaced in consciousness by other ideas, is, according to Vogt, the normal analogy to catatonic perseveration, such as verbigeration, catalepsy, etc. Accordingly, in catatonia, the tendency to perseveration of the psychophysical functions would be especially marked. But inasmuch as in the Müller-Pilzecker observations, perseveration is manifested most distinctly only when no new content of consciousness impresses itself 19 In conditions of distraction, there is an increase of perseveration in association experiments., Vogt claims that in catatonia, perseverations...