File:A treatise on mental diseases (1900) (14765526184).jpg

Identifier: 39002086343333.med.yale.edu
Title: A treatise on mental diseases
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Berkley, Henry Johns,1860-
Subjects: Insanity Mental Disorders
Publisher: New York, D. Appleton & Company
Contributing Library: Yale University, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Open Knowledge Commons and Yale University, Cushing/Whitney Medical Library

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nation and excitement. Every denial irritates thesenile dement; dictatorial, egotistical, and cruel, he has absolutelylost all consideration for the rights or feelings of his neighbour. In his temperament he often shows a curious compound of sillymirth and tearful depression, mingled with increasing complaintsof the lack of attention received from those who should care forhim in his old age. Not uncommonly the sexual desire is greatlyincreased in these dotards, though they may lack the actual powerof gratifying it in a natural way. In such cases the proclivity notinfrequently finds vent in lewd speech and obscene letter writing.Plans of marriage are formulated and declaimed upon. Less fre- THE PSYCHOSES OF OLD AGE 225 quent are attempts at rape, especially upon children. Shameless ex-posure of the genitalia in public places not uncommonly brings theminto conflict with the civil authorities, which ends in incarcerationin an institution. With women, sexual delusions of a different char-
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Fig. 22.—Senile Dementia. The patient had periods of extreme loquacity followed by amild depression during which she would complain of her fears that she was not tohave Christian burial. The facial expression is one of anxiety. From a photographkindly loaned. acter are more prominent. They are nightly ravished, or carriedto houses of prostitution; or they imagine that they are followedthrough the streets by men who wish to assault them. Definite hallucinations are somewhat rare among the aged in-sane, and those that do occur are of an elementary order. The fre- 226 -4 TREATISE ON MENTAL DISEASES quent advancing deafness gives rise to failure to appreciate properlyimpressions received from external agencies. The clanging of bells,the whistling of locomotives, or the whir of the trolley car is misin-terpreted, and converted into the imperfect perception of voices.Hallucinations of sight are even less frequent. On the other hand,the faulty registration of cutaneous sense impressions ar

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