title: [Mental illness in the former Dutch Indies--four psychiatric syndromes: amok, latah, koro and neurasthenia].
abstract: --At the beginning of the 20th century Dutch psychiatrists in the former Dutch Indies encountered exotic psychiatric syndromes and variant expressions of psychopathological diseases that were also prevalent in Europe. --The amok and latah syndromes were reported relatively frequently and were considered typical endemic psychopathologies. Amok is an acute condition of insanity in which the affected individual, a man, attempts to kill others. Latah is a shock-like condition in which the affected individual, a woman, mimics the movements and sounds of those nearby against her will. --The koro syndrome is considered a typical but rare psychosis seen primarily among the Chinese population of the former Dutch Indies. Patients have a recurring fear of the penis retracting into the body. --A diagnosis of 'tropical neurasthenia' was frequently made in Europeans for what today would be referred to as dysthymic disorder or minor depressive disorder.
authors.affiliation: Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, Amsterdam. menneb@hotmail.com
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bartelsman
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Eckhardt
mesh_terms: D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000266:history; D005260:Female; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D016911:Koro / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history*; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history*; D009440:Neurasthenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000266:history*; D013577:Syndrome