The term dementia was first introduced in the medical literature by the Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus in his treatise De Medicina (20 AD) to indicate a generic pattern of alterations of intelligence and behavior. Until the eighteenth century, however, the term dementia was commonly used as a synonym of madness. In 1838 French psychiatrist Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol first distinguished dementia - defined as an acquired process characterized by loss of memory, ability to judge, and attention - from congenital mental deficit. At present, according to DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association. DSM-IV-tr: -diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed, text revision. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 2000), the essential characteristics of dementia include impairment in memory, plus at least in one other cognitive function (language, visuospatial skills, etc.), as well as substantial disturbance of work or social functioning resulting from cognitive deficits. These features should not occur as isolated features of delirium. Nonetheless, from a clinical point of view, the term dementia has to be considered a multifaceted syndrome rather than a single disease.
Nani, A., Cavanna, A. (2013). Neuroimaging studies of the dwindling self: Neurodegenerative dementias. In A.E. Cavanna, A. Nani, H. Blumenfeld, S. Laureys (a cura di), Neuroimaging of Consciousness (pp. 247-261). Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg [10.1007/978-3-642-37580-4_13].
Neuroimaging studies of the dwindling self: Neurodegenerative dementias
Cavanna A
2013
Abstract
The term dementia was first introduced in the medical literature by the Roman physician Aulus Cornelius Celsus in his treatise De Medicina (20 AD) to indicate a generic pattern of alterations of intelligence and behavior. Until the eighteenth century, however, the term dementia was commonly used as a synonym of madness. In 1838 French psychiatrist Jean-Étienne Dominique Esquirol first distinguished dementia - defined as an acquired process characterized by loss of memory, ability to judge, and attention - from congenital mental deficit. At present, according to DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association. DSM-IV-tr: -diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed, text revision. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 2000), the essential characteristics of dementia include impairment in memory, plus at least in one other cognitive function (language, visuospatial skills, etc.), as well as substantial disturbance of work or social functioning resulting from cognitive deficits. These features should not occur as isolated features of delirium. Nonetheless, from a clinical point of view, the term dementia has to be considered a multifaceted syndrome rather than a single disease.
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