[Visna of Egill Skallagrimsson].

Considering the changes in moral principles, human behavior and behavioral values through the ages, in Egill Skallagrimsson's Saga, Egill presents us with altered mental status. This is in terms of what at present is considered symptoms of an anti-social personality, and bipolar affective disorder. Egill Skallagrimsson is considered one of the most famous Vikings in the Icelandic Sagas. Archaeological findings mentioned in Egill's Saga indicate disfigurement of his skull, which has led many authors to suggest that Egill suffered from skeletal dysplasia. The primary assumption in the literature is that Egill Skallagrimsson was affected by Paget's disease of bone. This consideration is additionally based on the scholar's interpretation of the Saga text. The unique storytelling style in the Saga of Egill Skallagrimsson is evident; however, the question of the story's truthfulness remains open. In this article, we investigate Egill Skallagrimsson's assumed Paget's disease of bone, based on the physical and mental symptoms disclosed in the Saga of Egill Skallagrimsson. Associated with the assumption, the author's hermeneutics of Egill's Saga in the context of modern-day knowledge of Paget's disease of bone, brings forward the probability estimate to the range of permille. In Scandinavian folklore and mythology, a tale by Saxo Grammaticus of a notorious shield-maiden named Visna, reminds of Egill, as noted by Snorri Sturluson. Hence, in reference to Egill Skallagrimsson's mental status and physical appearance as listed in Egill's Saga, the authors recommend the name for his condition to be "Visna of Egill Skallagrimsson".

Hervey Cleckley (1903-1984): Contributions to the study of psychopathy.

Hervey Cleckley (1903-1984) was probably among the most influential psychiatrists of the 20th century, but the history of his intellectual contributions to psychopathy is not especially well known. Not all of Cleckley's writings have stood the test of time, but others seem prescient, arguably anticipating current debates regarding such contentious issues as successful psychopathy and the treatability of psychopathy. Although Cleckley's seminal writings on psychopathy are familiar to many contemporary scholars, Cleckley's role as an expert witness and his writings on other topics, such as dissociative identity disorder, may be less familiar to many readers. Cleckley's rich and diverse body of work is worth revisiting for its keen insights regarding psychopathy and personality pathology more broadly. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Born criminal? Differences in structural, functional and behavioural lateralization between criminals and noncriminals.

Over 100 years ago Lombroso [(1876/2006). Criminal man. Durham: Duke University Press] proposed a biological basis for criminality. Based on inspection of criminals' skulls he theorized that an imbalance of the cerebral hemispheres was amongst 18 distinguishing features of the criminal brain. Specifically, criminals were less lateralized than noncriminals. As the advent of neuroscientific techniques makes more fine-grained inspection of differences in brain structure and function possible, we review criminals' and noncriminals' structural, functional, and behavioural lateralization to evaluate the merits of Lombroso's thesis and investigate the evidence for the biological underpinning of criminal behaviour. Although the body of research is presently small, it appears consistent with Lombroso's proposal: criminal psychopaths' brains show atypical structural asymmetries, with reduced right hemisphere grey and white matter volumes, and abnormal interhemispheric connectivity. Functional asymmetries are also atypical, with criminal psychopaths showing a less lateralized cortical response than noncriminals across verbal, visuo-spatial, and emotional tasks. Finally, the incidence of non-right-handedness is higher in criminal than non-criminal populations, consistent with reduced cortical lateralization. Thus despite Lombroso's comparatively primitive and inferential research methods, his conclusion that criminals' lateralization differs from that of noncriminals is borne out by the neuroscientific research. How atypical cortical asymmetries predispose criminal behaviour remains to be determined.

[Doctrine of psychopathy typology: E. Kretschmer's concept of 'key experience' and inherited defect]. / Uchenie o tipologii psikhopatii: kontseptsiia É. Krechmera 'kliuchevogo perezhivaniia' i vrozhdennogo defekta.

The author analyzes the first concept of E. Kretschmer which preceded his famous concept of cycloid and schizoid temperaments: specific 'root' or 'key' experience characteristic of the personality type. This concept was built on the clinical data of patients with delusions but E. Kretschmer assumed that the difference in the degree of disease was not essential ('neurosis of reference' and 'sensitive delusion of reference' were more close than 'sensitive delusion of reference' and 'expansive delusion'). For a sensitive psychopath, the key and specific experience is 'shameful defeat', for expansive psychopath - 'the violence over will by the common will'. Explanations of the phenomenon of psychopathic personalities made by E. Kraepelin and E. Kretschmer are compared as well as the relationship of psychopathic types determined by E. Kretschmer to 'the general psychopathic constitution'.

[The abnomal personalities in the conception of H. Gruhle]. / Anomal'nye lichnosti v kontseptsii G. Grule.

Understanding of psychopathic personality in the conception of H. Gruhle, a famous German psychiatrist, is analyzed. The issue that the psychopathic personality is accidentally combined with mental illness, psychosis is contradictory to the conception of 'general degenerative constitution'; psychopathology can be isolated and transient. There is absence of age criteria in the diagnosis of psychopathy as well. The initial attempt of H. Gruhle to systematically consider all types of psychopathy was not well substantiated, therefore the author returned to Kraepelin's systematics of psychopathic personality according to prominent traid.

[K. Birnbaum's concept of psychopathic personalities]. / Psikhopaticheskie lichnosti v kontseptsii K. Birnbauma.

K. Birnbaum's concept of psychopathic personalities is analyzed. K. Birnbaum was one of the first psychiatrists who had suggested the differentiation of psychopathic personalities according to the degree of social damage they caused. As personality abnormality classification according to one prominent trait that led to hiding signs of the general psychopathic constitution in clinical description, as the reliance on erroneous genetic theories with idealization of social behavior norms led to the antihuman medical recommendations. The analysis of K. Birnbaum's psychopathological concept confirms the widespread prevalence of 'the degeneration theory' in the views of many German psychiatrists before and after the Nazi ascension to power.

[Anarchists, Assassins and Revolutionaries. The Psychopathologization of "Political Criminals" between 1880 and 1920]. / Anarchisten, Attentäter und Revolutionäre. Zur Psychopathologisierung "politischer Verbrecher" zwischen 1880 und 1920.

"Political criminals" of the early 20th century were adjudged to be psychopaths, a term which was generally accompanied by a negative moral judgement. However, other more positive appraisals were also made at this time. These contradictory moral judgements by psychiatrists expose the need for an examination of the historical development of concepts, traditions and moral debates associated with political criminals (anarchists, assassins, revolutionaries). This will be undertaken in the context of psychiatry/ criminology, security (and surveillance) policy as well as culture and the arts in German-speaking countries from 1880 to the early 1920s.

[From "psychopathy" to "personality disorder"--conceptual history of a problematic field within psychiatry]. / Von der «Psychopathie¼ zur «Persönlichkeitsstörung¼--die begriffliche Entwicklung eines heiklen psychiatrischen Bereiches.

The issue of personality disorders addresses fundamental questions of psychiatry: Is there a clear boundary between normal behaviour and the state of mental illness? Which criteria are defining this boundary? Is a personality disorder really a mental illness or «just¼ a special variation of an individual lifestyle? This paper reviews the development of the terms psychopathy/personality disorder from the early 19th century to the present-day diagnostic manuals ICD-10 and DSM-5. This debate spreads out­as it does with regard to any other mental disorder­between psychopathological, neurobiological and social sciences approaches. It is of high practical relevance to realize that nowadays effective therapeutic options for patients with personality disorders are available. Therefore, the therapeutic nihilism of earlier times is no longer justified.

[Epistemic and historical elucidation of the borderline personality disorder]. / Elucidación epistémica e histórica del trastorno de la personalidad límite o borderline.

INTRODUCTION: The particularities of those that have been considered "hard cases" in the clinical field, and their relationship with personality disorders, are discussed together with their quintessential conceptual and diagnostic model: the borderline personalities. The aim of the study is to historically and epistemologically rebuild their origins within psychiatry and psychoanalysis. METHODS AND RESULTS: From a classical epistemological and historical study, a brief tour is made through the nineteenth century alienism and the postulate of "partial insanity". Next, a passage is spawned through the concepts that emerged from this postulate: "monomania" and "moral insanity", up to mid-century Kraepelin and the "fundamental states" of manic-depressive insanity as pathological constitutional forms or characters, and reaching the twentieth century with characterology and psychopathic personalities. Finally, psychoanalysis is analyzed as the main source of borderline personality disorders arising from the problems encountered in analytical treatments and the development of the notion of "character neurosis". CONCLUSIONS: Borderline personality disorders are the result of the conjunction of a number of factors, heirs of the notion of "partial insanity", of the fundamental states of manic-depression insanity, of characterology, of the idea of constitutions and pathological personalities, together with the emerging concerns of psychoanalysis in the early twentieth century.

[Gene-environment-interaction of ODD and Conduct Disorder Versus "Anethic Psychopathy"]. / Eine frühe Gen-Umwelt-Theorie der Störungen des Sozialverhaltens versus "Anethischer Psychopathie".

Gene-environment-interaction of ODD and Conduct Disorder Versus ¼Anethic Psychopathy«. In 1934, Kramer and von der Leyen demonstrated in a sophisticated longitudinal study with eleven conduct disordered and neglected children labelled as ¼anethic psychopaths« that ¼anethic traits« subsided in a favourable educational setting. Sound prognoses, due to the diversity of environmental factors, were found to be impossible. On the contrary they stated that negative labelling led to an affirmation of a negative prognosis. In theory, they supposed a genetic predisposition resulting in a heightened sensitivity to the environment. This early theory of epigenetics radically contradicted the Nazi dogma of hereditability and ostracism and the selection procedures in mainstream psychiatry at that time. The debate ended with von der Leyen's suicide and the prohibition of medical work and publication towards Kramer. Even after the end of the Nazi policy of ¼eradication of the socially debased«, this early theory was not taken on again, nor dignified.

Use of Rorschach tests at the Nuremberg war crimes trial: A forgotten chapter in history of medicine.

Seventy years ago, psychiatrists and psychologists had unusual access to the Nazi leaders awaiting trial by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Early leaders in the field of psychosomatic medicine were instrumental in facilitating these interviews as well as arranging for the administration of psychological testing with the Rorschach inkblot test. These observations were kept under wraps for decades and there remains controversy even now about what these Rorschachs revealed-demonic psychopaths or just morally corrupt individuals.

The neurobiology of psychopathy: recent developments and new directions in research and treatment.

Psychopathic individuals account for substantial predatory and impulsive violence. To the present, the principal intervention used to decrease the harm inflicted by psychopaths has been confinement. Nevertheless, most confined psychopathic persons return to the community. Recent advances in the understanding of the neurobiology of psychopathy hold promise for new research directions and more effective treatments. In this article, we will explore recent advances in genetics, electrophysiology, brain imaging, and psychopharmacology, as well as, in brief, their implications for new directions in research and treatment.

The Dangers of Posthumous Diagnoses and the Unintended Consequences of Facile Associations: Jeffrey Dahmer and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Posthumous diagnoses are not uncommonly given to notorious public and historical figures by applying retrospectively, and typically in the absence of the individual being diagnosed, contemporary diagnostic criteria. Although this may be relatively easy and free of consequences when it concerns clear-cut medical conditions, it may have unintended repercussions in the case of psychiatric disorders by creating myths and perpetuating stigma. The case of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is a typical example where a somewhat facile and almost syllogistic application of perhaps over-inclusive criteria may have contributed to the legend of solitary murderers as possibly suffering from an autism spectrum condition. Although there may be an understandable human need to explain abominable and heinous behaviors, the lack of the possibility to verify a diagnostic theory and the ill-advised attempt to make a diagnosis fit may de facto be the basis of prejudice and profiling that do not correspond to clinical reality. Although there is no doubt that the brain is the organ of behavior, the authors caution against a budding neo-Lombrosian approach to crime and criminality and against the all too common use of widely differing terms in the study of deviance, such as crime, delinquency, and aggression, the operational use of which, often used interchangeably even in association studies, often erroneously leads to further confusion.

[Insanity, life crises and longing for a "real life". On the discussion of deviant behavior and mental disorders in psychiatry of the 19th and 20th century]. / Von Wahnsinn, Lebenskrisen und der Sehnsucht nach einem "richtigen Leben". Zur Diskussion von abweichendem Verhalten und Geistesstörungen in der Psychiatrie des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts am Beispiel von Patientenschicksalen.

On insanity, life crises and the longing for a "right life". A contribution to the discussion on the deviant behavior and mental disorders in the psychiatry of the 19th and 20th centuries using the example of patient stories. History of psychiatry, understood as social and cultural history, provides the framework for this micro-historical article. Using the example of three patients treated in Wuerttemberg or Baden psychiatric asylums between 1875 and 1912, the article focuses on the critical analysis of types of asylums, their practices of admissions, therapies and power relations between patients and staff. Ways of thinking and acting, subjective experiences and emotions are exemplified by patient records, personal testimonials and contemporary publications again by patients and staff. The article examines options of patients to influence the institutional daily asylum routine against the background of its complexity and dynamics. Borders, manipulations, malingering and querulous paranoia are at stake here. Furthermore, the article reflects various forms of social interaction with the power regulating therapeutic and disciplinary aspects against the backdrop of the "canons of rules" of the asylum as well as the contemporary political and legal framework.

Psychopathic characters in fiction.

The theme of psychopathy has fascinated artists and the general public for centuries. The first concepts on psychopathy came from the parasciences, such as phrenology where anatomical features were linked to certain psychopathic/immoral behaviors. The concept of psychopathy was recognized by forensic psychiatry a few decades ago and this official recognition was followed by the emergence of scientific and clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and prognosis of psychopaths. These modern tools can also be used for historical purposes by allowing us to look back on fictional works and identify psychopaths in literature. Interpretation of fictitious psychopaths needs to be related to the historical situation in which the novels were written; such investigations can be both enriching and thrilling.