Kraepelin and manic-depressive insanity: an historical perspective.
Since the time of the ancient Greeks, physicians have recognized a certain relatedness between the mental states of depression and mania. In the mid-Nineteenth century, French alienists proposed a 'double' or 'circular' illness consisting of alternating depressed and manic episodes and at the beginning of the twentieth century, Emil Kraepelin introduced the term 'manic-depressive insanity.' Kraepelin's broad clinical experience resulted in compelling descriptions of the symptoms of mood disorders that have arguably never been surpassed. The Kraepelinian nosology continues to provide a touchstone for modern classification systems of the mood disorders.
Mondimore
Francis M
FM
The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. fmondimo@jhmi.edi
D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000266:history* / Q000523:psychology*; D049668:History, 15th Century; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000266:history*; D011582:Psychological Theory