title: Conversion disorder and mass psychogenic illness in child neurology.
abstract: A common problem faced by neurologists is the existence of disorders that present with neurological symptoms but do not have identifiable neurological bases. Conversion disorder is the most common of these disorders. In some situations, members of a cohesive social group will develop the same or similar symptoms. This review discusses conversion disorder in children, with an emphasis on function movement disorders. It also reviews a recent occurrence of mass psychogenic illness in New York State with discussion of the key features of mass psychogenic illness.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Pediatrics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York.
authors.forename: Jonathan W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Mink
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D003291:Conversion Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007046:Hysteria / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000523:psychology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D011859:Radiography; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: mass hysteria; psychogenic movement disorder; somatoform disorders; tics