Athymhormia
Encyclopedia
Athymhormia is a disorder of motivation
, one of that class of neuro
-psychiatric
condition
s marked by abnormalities or deficiencies in motivation
. Symptoms include the loss or reduction of desire and interest
toward previous motivations, loss of drive and the desire for satisfaction, curiosity, the loss of taste
s and preference
s, and flat affect. In athymhormia, however, these phenomena are not accompanied by the characterizing features of depression
nor by any notable abnormality in intellect
ual or cognitive function.
category was coined in 1922 by the French
psychiatrist
s Dide and Guiraud, originally in reference to the behavior identified in some schizophrenic patient
s.
of this condition has been hypothesized to derive from abnormalities in the limbic
frontal cortex, the striatum
, globus pallidus
, and dorso
-medial
thalamic nucleus
. In the context of the theory of those who propose the existence of a distinct neural pathway
for mood and interest, or the "hormothymic" system, athymhormia may be a disorder of this system.
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
, one of that class of neuro
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
-psychiatric
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
condition
Condition
-Logic:* Logical conditional* Necessary and sufficient condition, condition of another means that the former statement is true if and only if the latter is true-Computer programming:* Conditions, a generalization of exceptions in exception-handling...
s marked by abnormalities or deficiencies in motivation
Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation...
. Symptoms include the loss or reduction of desire and interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
toward previous motivations, loss of drive and the desire for satisfaction, curiosity, the loss of taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
s and preference
Preference
-Definitions in different disciplines:The term “preferences” is used in a variety of related, but not identical, ways in the scientific literature. This makes it necessary to make explicit the sense in which the term is used in different social sciences....
s, and flat affect. In athymhormia, however, these phenomena are not accompanied by the characterizing features of depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
nor by any notable abnormality in intellect
Intellect
Intellect is a term used in studies of the human mind, and refers to the ability of the mind to come to correct conclusions about what is true or real, and about how to solve problems...
ual or cognitive function.
Origin of diagnostic category
The diagnosticDiagnosis
Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of anything. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines with variations in the use of logics, analytics, and experience to determine the cause and effect relationships...
category was coined in 1922 by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
s Dide and Guiraud, originally in reference to the behavior identified in some schizophrenic patient
Patient
A patient is any recipient of healthcare services. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, advanced practice registered nurse, veterinarian, or other health care provider....
s.
Etiology
The etiologyEtiology
Etiology is the study of causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek , aitiologia, "giving a reason for" ....
of this condition has been hypothesized to derive from abnormalities in the limbic
Limbic system
The limbic system is a set of brain structures including the hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nuclei, septum, limbic cortex and fornix, which seemingly support a variety of functions including emotion, behavior, long term memory, and olfaction. The term "limbic" comes from the Latin...
frontal cortex, the striatum
Striatum
The striatum, also known as the neostriatum or striate nucleus, is a subcortical part of the forebrain. It is the major input station of the basal ganglia system. The striatum, in turn, gets input from the cerebral cortex...
, globus pallidus
Globus pallidus
The globus pallidus also known as paleostriatum, is a sub-cortical structure of the brain. Topographically, it is part of the telencephalon, but retains close functional ties with the subthalamus - both of which are part of the extrapyramidal motor system...
, and dorso
Dorsum (biology)
In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...
-medial
Medial
- Medial magmas :In abstract algebra, a medial magma is a set with a binary operation which satisfies the identity \cdot = \cdot , or more simply, xy\cdot uv = xu\cdot yv...
thalamic nucleus
Thalamus
The thalamus is a midline paired symmetrical structure within the brains of vertebrates, including humans. It is situated between the cerebral cortex and midbrain, both in terms of location and neurological connections...
. In the context of the theory of those who propose the existence of a distinct neural pathway
Neural pathway
A neural pathway, neural tract, or neural face, connects one part of the nervous system with another and usually consists of bundles of elongated, myelin-insulated neurons, known collectively as white matter...
for mood and interest, or the "hormothymic" system, athymhormia may be a disorder of this system.
Further reading
- Patrick Verstichel and Pascale Larrouy. "Drowning Mr. M." Scientific American Mind. April 2005.