ABSTRACT
Disease of the mind The legal definition of insanity is much broader than the medical one and extends to any internal factor which impairs the faculties of reason, memory and understanding, irrespective of whether it is a disorder of the brain. Thus, conditions such as diabetes, sleepwalking and epilepsy can be diseases of the mind within the meaning of the M’Naghten Rules, although they are unlikely to be characterised as such by the medical profession.
