The Psychiatric Quarterly

, Volume 36, Issue 1–4, pp 203–221 | Cite as

On the psychology of the shaking palsy

  • William R. Flynn
Article

Summary

The theme of the paper is that, since disturbances of body movement normally accompany feeling states, it is possible that a chronic disturbance of affect may be accompanied by a chronic disturbance of movement. The specific hypothesis is that the syndrome of parkinsonism may accompany a prolonged affect disorder in a patient who is highly suggestible and to whom the diagnosis is given prematurely. The somatic responses may become fixed by repetition and reinforcement, so that the movement disturbance runs parallel with the psychological one and can only be relieved by a successful resolution of the psychological problems. This hypothesis is advanced to explain the parkinsonian syndrome in the patient who has been described and discussed. This writer does not believe that all cases of parkinsonism are produced by this mechanism.

Keywords

Encephalitis Tofranil Muscle Rigidity Chronic Disturbance Extrapyramidal System 
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Copyright information

© The Psychiatric Quarterly 1962

Authors and Affiliations

  • William R. Flynn
    • 1
  1. 1.Neuropsychiatric InstituteUniversity of California Medical CenterLos Angeles 24

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