Excerpt from Clinical Lectures on Mental Diseases I have to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance I have received from the present or past staff of the Royal Edin burgh Asylum, Drs. Turnbull, Carlyle Johnstone, Mitchell, Spence, steoedman, and Harrison Thomas, in getting up the statistics of many of the forms of insanity from the records of the institution, and especially I have to thank my friend. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The importance of detailed examination and theoretical interpretation of the single case has been increasingly recognized in neuropsychology. This book brings together in one volume discussion of the classic cases which have shaped the way we think about the relationships between brain, behaviour and cognition. The single cases covered may be ancient or modern, famous or less well-known. But the book is comprehensive in its coverage of contemporary neuropsychological issues. Represented are classic cases in language, memory, perception, attention and praxis. Some of the cases included are rare, or have acted as catalysts to the development of theory. Some have remained the definitive case; many were the first of their type to be described and gave rise to the development of new syndrome entities. Some are still controversial. In some instances, the cases resulted in major paradigm shifts. Some, while still highly influential, were misinterpreted. But most of them were read only by a few in their original form. Each chapter highlights the relevance of the case for the development of neuropsychology, describes the particular features of the case that are interesting and discusses the theoretical implications.

Originally published in 1991 as part of the Tavistock Classics in the History of Psychiatry series, this re-edition of J-M. Charcot’s Clinical Lectures on Diseases of the Nervous System provides a unique opportunity to examine the work of one of the last century’s most controversial and admired physicians. Widely esteemed for his work in neuropathology, Charcot was also an innovator in the study of hysteria, making important contributions to its study in both women and men. The Clinical Lectures reproduced here are especially important for two key reasons. First, they provide insight into Charcot’s often neglected study of male hysteria, especially traumatic shock, as well as, hysteria among children. Secondly, they give an opportunity to examine his clinical method and style. His presentations and scholarly compilations greatly influenced an entire generation of French and other physicians interested in the study of the ‘unconscious’ during the turn of the century. The introduction, which precedes the work, places the volume in its social, political and historical context. It highlights the key features of the historiographical debate surrounding Charcot, which ranges in scope from the social and intellectual history of the Third Republic through that of early psychoanalysis. It then proceeds with an examination of the key themes – both substantive and methodological – underlying Charcot’s researches, providing both a general entrée into the history of medicine and society in this period, as well as an explication du texte which carefully analyses the lectures themselves.