Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor, affective and cognitive-behavioral symptoms, presenting significant challenges for both psychiatrists and neurologists. It occurs in 518% of patients in inpatient psychiatric units and in 3.3% of those in neurology or neuropsychiatric tertiary care inpatient settings. Despite its relatively high prevalence, catatonia is often underdiagnosed and inadequately treated, which can lead to substantial disadvantages for patients and may be associated with potentially life-threatening conditions. This comprehensive guide is designed to assist clinicians, researchers, and students in understanding and treating catatonia. It navigates through the history of the condition, exploring its phenomenology, clinical manifestations and pathophysiology, before delving into effective treatment strategies. By providing a clear and thorough overview, this guide simplifies the recognition of catatonia and promotes prompt and accurate treatment, encouraging future research endeavours in catatonia.
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A comprehensive guide to understanding and treating catatonia, integrating real patient cases and clinical practice with latest research.
Foreword Gregory Fricchione; Foreword Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg; Preface;
Acknowledgements;
1. Historical origins of catatonia;
2. Different conceptual
frameworks of catatonia;
3. Phenomenology and subjective experience of
catatonia clinical cases;
4. Epidemiology of catatonia;
5. Clinical
manifestation, complexity of catatonic signs, differential diagnoses and
potential somatic consequences;
6. Clinical, laboratory and neuroimaging
assessments relevant for the diagnostic work-up of catatonia;
7. Management
and treatment of catatonia;
8. Outcome and course of catatonia;
9. Most
common neuroinflammatory origins of catatonia;
10. Brain networks underlying
catatonia;
11. Breaking new ground: novel approaches to understanding
catatonia and the brain-mind relationship; Index.
Dr. Dusan Hirjak, MD, is a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and clinician-scientist, who specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and research of catatonia. Bridging clinical practice and scientific inquiry, Dr. Hirjak derives research questions from everyday patient care, employing cutting-edge methodologies to deepen understanding and improve therapeutic approaches for this complex neuropsychiatric condition. Georg Northoff, MD, Ph.D., FRCP, is a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and philosopher who pioneers research on the brain-mind relationship, particularly in catatonia. His work explores how the brain generates mental phenomena like self and consciousness, driven by the question: 'why and how does the brain construct mental features?'
