[Pathological laughter. A case study].
A 22-year-old man sometimes engaged in inappropriate laughter. The affective lability fitted in with the diagnosis of mental retardation and of a personality disorder Not Otherwise Specified. In this brief review of the literature we discuss the neuroanatomy, psychodynamics and phenomenology of pathological laughter. Up till now there have been only a few restricted and fragmentary studies of pathological laughter in psychiatry. Pathological laughter is often a result of organic mental disorders.
Beke
D B
DB
Universitair centrum Sint-Kamillus te Bierbeek, Rekkem, Belgium. dbeke@medscape.com
Hebbrecht
M
M
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007845:Laughter; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*