Some Functional Relationships in Geriatric Psychiatry*

Abstract

Based upon electroencephalographic, clinical and experimental findings in the field of geriatric psychiatry, this article presents a group of working hypotheses which may lead to: 1) a better understanding of some EEG phenomena in terms of the overall clinical picture (and vice versa); and 2) more specific questions for further study. A diagram is presented which summarizes the more important points. This approach is prompted by the marked difference between the types of geriatric EEG, and also certain EEG‐clinical correlations—phenomena which make this field particularly interesting for the investigation of psychophysiological relationships.

Some Trends in Geriatric Psychiatry

“…Bleuler The EEG also can be of help in the dif ferential diagnosis (37). It tends to demon strate diffuse slowing, sometimes with welldeveloped delta rhythms in the early stages of senile dementia and bilaterally synchro nous discharges with sharp components with a rhythm of 0.5 per second in advanced cases (36). Cerebral arteriosclero sis, on the other hand, produces asym metries which have frequently clearcut foci.…”