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Echopraxia in Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

James Chapman  and
Andrew McGhie
James Chapman
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of St. Andrews, Queen's College, Dundee (supported by a Medical Research Council Grant)
Andrew McGhie
Affiliation:
From the Royal Dundee Liff Hospital and the Department of Psychiatry, University of St. Andrews
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Extract

The term echopraxia refers to the automatic repetition by an individual of visually perceived actions of others. It has been reported to occur in a variety of pathological mental states (Stengel, 1947). Descriptions of the phenomenon as it occurs in schizophrenia tend to be limited to a brief reference to its presence in catatonic patients, and it is not generally recognized to be a feature of the early stages of the illness. The purpose of this paper is to make an attempt to analyse the phenomenon, in discussing the subjective reports of a number of young schizophrenic patients who were interviewed in the early stages of their illness. Before proceeding to these reports it may be useful to examine briefly echopractic behaviour first as it is reported in normal development and then in clinical conditions, particularly chronic schizophrenia.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 110 , Issue 466 , May 1964 , pp. 365 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1964 

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