ABSTRACT
Catatonia is the term used to describe a disorder, the main feature of which is a recurrence of episodes of catalepsy. The actual term was first used in a psychiatric context by Kahlbaum in 1874 in a classic monograph entitled "The Tension Insanity" (Johnson. 1993). Catalepsy is a state of extreme physical immobility and mutism, lasting for minutes or hours at a time. A characteristic of catalepsy is the spontaneous adoption of postures, perhaps statuesque or stereotyped, and the automatic maintenance of bodily positions imposed by the examiner. Cataleptic phenomena may also include trance or stupor. The origin of catalepsy can be psychogenic (as in hypnotic suggestion), pharmacogenic (induced by certain drugs, including neuroleptics), or organic (neurological disease such as encephalitis lethargica).
