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Frontiers of Neurology and Neuroscience 2018The dancing mania erupted in the 14th century in the wake of the Black Death, and recurred for centuries in central Europe - particularly Germany, the Netherlands, and... (Review)
Review
The dancing mania erupted in the 14th century in the wake of the Black Death, and recurred for centuries in central Europe - particularly Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium - finally abating in the early 17th century. The term "dancing mania" was derived from "choreomania," a concatenation of choros (dance) and mania (madness). A variant, tarantism, was prevalent in southern Italy from the 15th to the 17th centuries, and was attributed at the time to bites from the tarantula spider. Affected individuals participated in continuous, prolonged, erratic, often frenzied and sometimes erotic, dancing. In the 14th century, the dancing mania was linked to a corruption of the festival of St. John's Day by ancient pagan customs, but by the 16th century it was commonly considered an ordeal sent by a saint, or a punishment from God for people's sins. Consequently, during outbreaks in the 14th and 15th centuries, the dancing mania was considered an issue for magistrates and priests, not physicians, even though the disorder proved intractable to decrees and exorcisms. However, in the 16th century Paracelsus discounted the idea that the saints caused or interceded in the cure of the dancing mania; he instead suggested a psychogenic or malingered etiology, and this reformulation brought the dancing mania within the purview of physicians. Paracelsus advocated various mystical, psychological, and pharmacological approaches, depending on the presumptive etiologic factors with individual patients. Only music provided any relief for tarantism. Later authors suggested that the dancing mania was a mass stress-induced psychosis, a mass psychogenic illness, a culturally determined form of ritualized behavior, a manifestation of religious ecstasy, or even the result of food poisoning caused by the toxic and psychoactive chemical products of ergot fungi. In reality, dancing manias did not have a single cause, but component causes likely included psychogenic illness, malingering, and ritualized behaviors.
Topics: Ceremonial Behavior; Dancing; History, 15th Century; History, 16th Century; History, 17th Century; History, Medieval; Humans; Malingering; Psychotic Disorders; Religion and Medicine; Somatoform Disorders
PubMed: 29151097
DOI: 10.1159/000475719 -
Psychosomatics 2015Descriptions of malingering imposed on another, in which an individual induces or exaggerates symptoms in another for secondary gain (including financial benefit or... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Descriptions of malingering imposed on another, in which an individual induces or exaggerates symptoms in another for secondary gain (including financial benefit or access to medications), are remarkably scant in the current literature. We summarize reported cases of malingering imposed on another in order to underscore its relevance to practicing physicians.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to review the available literature describing the creation or exaggeration of symptoms of illness, motivated by secondary gain, in another vulnerable individual.
METHOD
A search of the literature using PubMed was undertaken searching the terms "malingering," "by proxy," and "imposed on another."
RESULTS
Malingering imposed on another may be under-reported in the professional literature. Maintaining awareness that caregivers may misrepresent or embellish the symptoms of the identified patient for their own gain is an important consideration to forestall unnecessary testing, hospital admission, and exposure to adverse effects of treatments.
Topics: Caregivers; Humans; Malingering; Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
PubMed: 26497617
DOI: 10.1016/j.psym.2015.07.006 -
NeuroRehabilitation 2015The assessment of any patient or examinee with neurological impairment, whether acquired or congenital, provides a key set of data points in the context of developing... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The assessment of any patient or examinee with neurological impairment, whether acquired or congenital, provides a key set of data points in the context of developing accurate diagnostic impressions and implementing an appropriate neurorehabilitation program. As part of that assessment, the neurological physical exam is an extremely important component of the overall neurological assessment.
PURPOSE
In the aforementioned context, clinicians often are confounded by unusual, atypical or unexplainable physical exam findings that bring into question the organicity, veracity, and/or underlying cause of the observed clinical presentation. The purpose of this review is to provide readers with general directions and specific caveats regarding validity assessment in the context of the neurological physical exam.
CONCLUSIONS
It is of utmost importance for health care practitioners to be aware of assessment methodologies that may assist in determining the validity of the neurological physical exam and differentiating organic from non-organic/functional impairments. Maybe more importantly, the limitations of many commonly used strategies for assessment of non-organicity should be recognized and consider prior to labeling observed physical findings on neurological exam as non-organic or functional.
Topics: Humans; Malingering; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Examination
PubMed: 26409489
DOI: 10.3233/NRE-151229 -
Fortschritte Der Neurologie-Psychiatrie Jan 2017High prevalence rates of non-authentic complaints identified by experts in the field of insurance medicine draw attention to the risk of services, which are of limited... (Review)
Review
High prevalence rates of non-authentic complaints identified by experts in the field of insurance medicine draw attention to the risk of services, which are of limited availability and financially compensated, being used in ways that are not goal-oriented. Therefore, symptom validity testing has become a growing issue to prevent non-targeted monetary compensations. This paper outlines the best-evaluated methods and instruments. Based on the data currently available, their validity, in particular in the context of medico-legal assessment, is assessed. It is concluded that symptom validity assessment allows inferences about the degree of certainty of clinical judgements on the authenticity of reported symptoms. Thus, the application of the suggested instruments enhances significantly the quality of medical and psychological expertise. However, the integration of the additional results into the overall assessment is challenging and needs to be further clarified.
Topics: Compensation and Redress; Diagnosis, Differential; Disability Evaluation; Expert Testimony; Germany; Humans; Insurance, Disability; Malingering
PubMed: 28114691
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-116681 -
Behavioral Sciences & the Law 2023In a recent paper, Acklin discussed a case of possible amnesia for a murder in terms of neurobiology, psychoanalysis, and personality assessment. Acklin accepted the... (Review)
Review
In a recent paper, Acklin discussed a case of possible amnesia for a murder in terms of neurobiology, psychoanalysis, and personality assessment. Acklin accepted the defendant's claim of amnesia for the crime as genuine. The considerable literature that takes a skeptical view of crime-related amnesia was not cited, and the possibility of feigning or malingering was "ruled out" with a single sentence that does not withstand scrutiny. A review of the literature on feigned amnesia suggests that it may not be possible to rule out malingering even if the best available tools are used: There has been minimal investigation of most validity tests and estimates of base rates of feigned amnesia for a crime vary widely and make estimates of Negative Predictor Power highly unreliable. Although one cannot know from the information presented if Acklin's defendant legitimately experienced amnesia, feigning could not be ruled out using an interview and the test data cited by Acklin. I call for a moratorium on publication of further articles on crime specific amnesia that do not conscientiously examine other potential explanations and do not use current best practices for assessing negative response bias.
Topics: Humans; Amnesia; Crime; Malingering; Personality Assessment
PubMed: 37071040
DOI: 10.1002/bsl.2623 -
The American Journal of Psychiatry Dec 2014
Topics: Drama; England; Famous Persons; Folklore; History, 17th Century; Humans; Literature, Modern; Malingering; Medicine in Literature; Mental Disorders
PubMed: 25756768
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2014.14091149 -
Applied Neuropsychology. Adult 2023The present study investigated demographic differences in performance validity test (PVT) failure in a Veteran sample.
OBJECTIVE
The present study investigated demographic differences in performance validity test (PVT) failure in a Veteran sample.
METHOD
Data were extracted from clinical neuropsychological evaluations. Only veterans who identified as men, as either European American/White (EA) or African American/Black (AA) were included ( = 1261). We investigated whether performance on two frequently used PVTs, the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM), and the Medical Symptom Validity Test (MSVT), differed by age, education, and race using separate logistic regressions.
RESULTS
Veterans with younger age, less education, and Veterans Affairs (VA) service-connected disability were significantly more likely to fail both PVTs. Race was not a significant predictor of MSVT failure, but AA patients were significantly more likely than EA patients to fail the TOMM. For all significant demographic predictors in the models, effects were small. In a subsample of patients who were given both PVTs ( = 461), the effects of race on performance remained.
CONCLUSIONS
Performance on the TOMM and MSVT differed by age and level of education. Performance on the TOMM differed between EA and AA patients, whereas performance on the MSVT did not. These results suggest that demographic factors may play a small but measurable role in performance on specific PVTs.
Topics: Male; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Malingering; Memory and Learning Tests; Educational Status; Demography; Reproducibility of Results
PubMed: 34428386
DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2021.1958814 -
International Journal of Legal Medicine Sep 2021The present review is intended to provide an up-to-date overview of the strategies available to detect malingered symptoms following whiplash. Whiplash-associated... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
The present review is intended to provide an up-to-date overview of the strategies available to detect malingered symptoms following whiplash. Whiplash-associated disorders (WADs) represent the most common traffic injuries, having a major impact on economic and healthcare systems worldwide. Heterogeneous symptoms that may arise following whiplash injuries are difficult to objectify and are normally determined based on self-reported complaints. These elements, together with the litigation context, make fraudulent claims particularly likely. Crucially, at present, there is no clear evidence of the instruments available to detect malingered WADs.
METHODS
We conducted a targeted literature review of the methodologies adopted to detect malingered WADs. Relevant studies were identified via Medline (PubMed) and Scopus databases published up to September 2020.
RESULTS
Twenty-two methodologies are included in the review, grouped into biomechanical techniques, clinical tools applied to forensic settings, and cognitive-based lie detection techniques. Strengths and weaknesses of each methodology are presented, and future directions are discussed.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite the variety of techniques that have been developed to identify malingering in forensic contexts, the present work highlights the current lack of rigorous methodologies for the assessment of WADs that take into account both the heterogeneous nature of the syndrome and the possibility of malingering. We conclude that it is pivotal to promote awareness about the presence of malingering in whiplash cases and highlight the need for novel, high-quality research in this field, with the potential to contribute to the development of standardised procedures for the evaluation of WADs and the detection of malingering.
Topics: Biomechanical Phenomena; Humans; Lie Detection; Malingering; Neuropsychological Tests; Self Report; Symptom Assessment; Whiplash Injuries
PubMed: 33829284
DOI: 10.1007/s00414-021-02589-w -
Applied Neuropsychology. Adult 2018The article aims to suggest clinically-useful tools in neuropsychological assessment for efficient use of embedded measures of performance validity. To accomplish this,... (Review)
Review
The article aims to suggest clinically-useful tools in neuropsychological assessment for efficient use of embedded measures of performance validity. To accomplish this, we integrated available validity-related and statistical research from the literature, consensus statements, and survey-based data from practicing neuropsychologists. We provide recommendations for use of 1) Cutoffs for embedded performance validity tests including Reliable Digit Span, California Verbal Learning Test (Second Edition) Forced Choice Recognition, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test Combination Score, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Failure to Maintain Set, and the Finger Tapping Test; 2) Selecting number of performance validity measures to administer in an assessment; and 3) Hypothetical clinical decision-making models for use of performance validity testing in a neuropsychological assessment collectively considering behavior, patient reporting, and data indicating invalid or noncredible performance. Performance validity testing helps inform the clinician about an individual's general approach to tasks: response to failure, task engagement and persistence, compliance with task demands. Data-driven clinical suggestions provide a resource to clinicians and to instigate conversation within the field to make more uniform, testable decisions to further the discussion, and guide future research in this area.
Topics: Humans; Malingering; Neuropsychological Tests; Neuropsychology; Psychology, Clinical; Psychomotor Performance
PubMed: 28139144
DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2017.1278602 -
The Journal of the American Academy of... Jun 2021The relationships between gender and malingering have received little attention in the literature. Our study examined data from 1,748 patients committed as incompetent...
The relationships between gender and malingering have received little attention in the literature. Our study examined data from 1,748 patients committed as incompetent to stand trial between 2008 and 2017, of whom 397 were women. Scores on a structured assessment of feigned psychiatric symptoms were only slightly higher for men than for women. Yet evaluators believed that over 23 percent of men but less than 15 percent of women were malingering. Our data suggest that these gender differences in rates of malingering may be attributable to symptom constellations and extent of criminal arrest history.
Topics: California; Criminals; Female; Forensic Psychiatry; Humans; Male; Malingering; Mental Competency; Mental Disorders; Sex Factors
PubMed: 33771911
DOI: 10.29158/JAAPL.200083-20