'Eccentricity', by DH Tuke (1892).

An astronomical concept up to the eighteenth century, 'eccentricity' started to be used to refer to behaviours considered as odd, strange, rare, extravagant, etc. Once reified into a personality trait, it gained explanatory power. This not only increased its popularity but also facilitated its links with psychopathology and neuropsychology, and, via the shared concept of madness, with the notions of genius and creativity. This Classic Text describes the process whereby Alienism (Psychiatry) medicalized eccentricity. To this day, the latter remains firmly attached to 'psychoticism' and to some personality disorders.

[On Sylvia Plath's Personality].

In this early study, written in 1985, I examined six of the most important personality traits of Sylvia Plath, the poet and writer (1). Sylvia oscillated between positions of dependency and independence; she was characterised by sexual inhibition and promiscuity, writer's block and an explosion of writing, achievement con- straint and liberation from the constraint, emotional dependence and independence. Paradoxically, she committed suicide when far more things (children, productive creative period, publication of her novel) tied her to life than was the case before her first suicide attempt (2). Her life was spent in the perspective of death; death was her main point of reference, and at the same time was a constantly present alternative solution (3). Her neurasthenic, sometimes bipolar mode of existence determined her everyday behaviour: fatigue, irritability, a low ability to tolerate failure, a tendency to somatisation, anxious attitude, low self-esteem (4). She lived between extremes: insensitivity and over-sensitivity, bad and good moods, ego systole and ego diastole, ambivalence towards close family members (father, mother, Ted), relationship fluctuating between adoration and hate (5). Her poetry persona was characterised by object phobia: in her poems objects become hooks, loops, traps (6). She was ambivalent towards both women and men: she hated women, while her effective therapist was a woman; she was jealous of men, she was not capable of a symmetrical partner relationship, she was either subordinate or superior. In Plath's poetry the incompatible dichotomy of soft worm and hard mask refers to the irreconcilable contradiction between the male and female world.

[Psychiatric disorder of Sylvia Plath].

Sylvia Plath was one of the most famous American poets in the twentieth century. Plath was diagnosed with depression after her first suicide attempt when she was 20 years old. Her major depression (without psychotic symptoms) recurred several times. Plath never had a manic episode, but there were probable hypomanic periods in her life. She died by violent suicide when she was 30. Sylvia Plath took a bottle of sleeping pills and stuck her head in a gas oven. Several factors may have contributed to Plath's psychiatric disorder and suicide. The author reviews the etiological factors and course of psychiatric disorder based on the Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath and the literature. Her family history was positive and her premorbid personality was vulnerable to depression. There were histrionic, narcissistic and borderline features in her personality. The probable diagnoses of Plath were bipolar II. affective disorder and mixed personality disorder.

Puntualizaciones sobre Introducción del narcisismo, más de cien años después / Observations on On Narcissism, more than one hundred years later / Autolesions sense finalitat autolítica: una revisió sistemática

En el centenario de la publicación de Introducción del narcisismo, vuelven a plantearse algunas discusiones a las que Freud respondía a sus colegas, sentando unas bases que provocarían intensos efectos en todo el edificio clínico y metapsicológico del psicoanálisis. Algunas de aquellas controversias siguen hoy vigentes, pero con nuevos actores en la escena psicoanalítica de nuestra época y renovados interlocutores. En el presente artículo, revisamos aquellas controversias

In the centenary of the publication of Introduction to Narcissism, new ideas are being considered on Freud's answers; answers that founded the basis that would provoke intense effects throughout the clinical and metapsychological institution of the Psychoanalysis. Some of those controversies are still valid today, but with new actors on the current psychoanalytic stage and renewed interlocutors. In the present article, those controversies are reviewed

L'objectiu d'aquest article és presentar una revisió de la investigació existent sobre les autolesions no suïcides (ANS) en població comunitária adolescent. Les ANS són un fenomen tan comú entre els adolescents que s'han proposat com a potencial trastorn independent. Els rangs de prevalença estan entre el 4,8 I el 28 %, amb una edat d'inici entre els 12 I els 15 anys. La seva preséncia s'acompanya de diversos trastorns, a banda del trastorn límit de la personalitat (TLP). Les experiéncies adverses en la infantesa, així com factors interns, són potents factors de risc

Max Scheler's influence on Kurt Schneider.

Kurt Schneider (1887-1967) met Max Scheler (1874-1928) in 1919 when he enrolled in the latter's philosophy seminars at the University of Cologne. Kurt Schneider was then a junior psychiatrist and Max Scheler a renowned philosophy professor and co-founder of the phenomenological movement in philosophy. We uncover the facts about their intellectual and personal relationship, summarize the main articles and books that they wrote and consider whether Max Scheler did influence the young Kurt Schneider. We conclude that Scheler's philosophy of emotion impressed Schneider, and that the latter's notion of 'vital depression' as the core element in melancholia was essentially applied Schelerian philosophy. Schneider's more celebrated contributions to psychiatry - his notion of first rank symptoms of schizophrenia - owed nothing to Scheler or any other philosopher.

The head that wears the crown: Henry VIII and traumatic brain injury.

Henry VIII of England is one of the most controversial figures in European history. He was born on 28 June 1491 as the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York and became the heir to the English throne after his elder brother died prematurely. A contradictory picture of Henry's character emerges from history: the young Henry was a vigorous, generous and intelligent king who saw early military and naval successes. In contrast, in his later years he became cruel, petty and tyrannical. His political paranoia and military misjudgements are in direct contrast to his earlier successes and promise. Several hypotheses have been put forward regarding his transformation from a renaissance king to a later medieval tyrant, including endocrinopathies, psychiatric illnesses and traumatic brain injury. In this paper we examine the historical evidence linking the change in Henry's personality and health problems to traumatic brain injury. To our knowledge this is the first systematic neurological study of traumatic brain injury in Henry VIII.

Personality disorder in DSM-5: an oral history.

As the revision process leading to DSM-5 began, the domain of personality disorder embodied the highest aspirations for major change. After an initial prototype-based proposal failed to gain acceptance, the Personality and Personality Disorders Work Group (P&PDWG) developed a hybrid model containing categorical and dimensional components. A clash of perspectives both within the P&PDWG and between the P&PDWG and DSM-5 oversight committees led to the rejection of this proposal from the main body of DSM-5. Major issues included conflicting ways of conceptualizing validation, differences of opinion from personality disorder experts outside the P&PDWG, divergent concepts of the magnitude of evidence needed to support substantial changes, and the disagreements about clinical utility of the hybrid model. Despite these setbacks, the 'Alternative DSM-5 Model of Personality Disorder' is presented in Section III of the DSM-5. Further research should clarify its performance relative to the DSM-IV criteria reprinted in the main DSM-5 text.

[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.

Neurobehavioral disorders locked in Alcatraz: case reports on three famous inmates / Distúrbios neurocomportamentais presos em Alcatraz: relatos de caso em três famosos presidiários

The Alcatraz prison, with its picturesque surroundings and fascinating life stories of its inmates, has been the subject of a number of films and publications. The authors take a closer look at the biographies of “Al Capone”, Robert “Birdman” Stroud and “Mickey” Cohen. These legendary American mobsters shared not only a history at “The Rock”, but also a history of neuropsychiatric diseases, ranging from neurosyphilis to anti-social, borderline and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

A prisão de Alcatraz, com sua atmosfera pitoresca e as fascinantes histórias de seus prisioneiros, foi objeto de vários filmes e publicações. Os autores focam nas biografias de “Al Capone”, Robert “Birdman” Stroud and “Mickey” Cohen. Estes legendários gangsteres americanos tem em comum não apenas suas penas cumpridas no “Rochedo”, mas também uma história de doenças neuropsiquiátricas, de neurosífilis a personalidades anti-sociais, “borderline” e obsessivo-compulsivas.

Neurobehavioral disorders locked in Alcatraz: case reports on three famous inmates.

The Alcatraz prison, with its picturesque surroundings and fascinating life stories of its inmates, has been the subject of a number of films and publications. The authors take a closer look at the biographies of "Al Capone", Robert "Birdman" Stroud and "Mickey" Cohen. These legendary American mobsters shared not only a history at "The Rock", but also a history of neuropsychiatric diseases, ranging from neurosyphilis to anti-social, borderline and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.

Studies of personality disorders: past, present, and future in recognition of ISSPD's 25th anniversary.

The past 25 years have shown major advances in the studies of personality disorders. This collaborative article by the presidents, past and present, of ISSPD reflects on the progress within several significant areas of studies, i.e., assessment, neuroscience, treatment, prevention, advocacy, and mental health policy.

Milestones in the history of personality disorders.

This paper analyzes the major historical milestones in the study of normal and abnormal personality, from antiquity up until the 20th century. Special attention is paid to the interaction between dimensional and typological approaches, which was a major issue during the preparation of DSM-5. Theories of personality started with the humoral theory of Greek medicine. Pinel, and later Esquirol and Prichard, are credited with the first descriptions of abnormal personalities in textbooks of psychiatry. Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, elaborate systems of normal and abnormal personality, associating to some degree types and dimensions, were devised by a succession of European psychologists, such as Ribot, Heymans, and Lazursky. Emil Kraepelin and Kurt Schneider proposed classifications of abnormal personality types. In parallel, psychoanalysts stressed the role of early life experiences. Towards the mid-20th century, statistical methods were applied to the scientific validation of personality dimensions with pioneers such as Cattell, anticipating the five-factor model.

Este artículo analiza los principales hitos históricos en el estudio de la personalidad normal y anormal, desde la Antigüedad hasta el siglo XX. Se pone especial atención a la interacción entre las aproximaciones dimensionales y tipológicas, tema que fue importante durante la preparación del DSM-5. Las teorías de la personalidad se iniciaron con la teoría humoral de la medicina griega. En los textos de psiquiatría se reconoce a Pinel, y luego a Esquirol y Prichard como los primeros autores en describir las personalidades anormales. Una sucesión de psicólogos europeos como Ribot, Heymans y Lazursky, entre finales del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX, idearon complejos sistemas de personalidad normal y anormal, asociando en algún grado tipos y dimensiones. Emil Krepelin y Kurt Schneider propusieron clasificaciones de tipos de personalidad anormal. Paralelamente, los psicoanalistas destacaron el papel de las experiencias tempranas de la vida. Hacia mediados del siglo XX se aplicaron métodos estadísticos para la validación científica de las dimensiones de la personalidad con pioneros como Cattell, anticipando el modelo de cinco factores.

Cet article passe en revue les étapes majeures de l'histoire de l'étude des personnalités normales et pathologiques, depuis l'antiquité jusqu'au XXe siècle. Cette perspective historique permet de comprendre certains débats qui ont animé la préparation du DSM-5, notamment le choix entre une approche faisant appel à des catégories diagnostiques distinctes, selon un modèle kraepelinien, par opposition à une description de la personnalité normale ou pathologique par des dimensions, dans la suite de travaux qui ont culminé dans le modèle de la personnalité à cinq facteurs (dit Big Five).

[Sensitive character: an almost forgotten personality disorder - illustrated by the case Anton Reiser]. / Der sensitive Charakter: Eine fast vergessene Persönlichkeitsstörung - illustriert am Fall Anton Reiser.

n his famous 1918 book "The sensitive relative delusion" Ernst Kretschmer not only described this specific delusional disorder but also the underlying sensitive personality disorder. Until now, relatively little attention has been paid to this part of his work. The incomplete reception is outlined, followed by a description of the symptoms, psychodynamics and course of sensitive personality disorder. The interpretation of "Anton Reiser: a psychological novel" - the autobiographical work by Karl Philipp Moritz in 1785 ­ is used as an example since it describes Anton Reiser as a sensitive personality.