PSICONEUROSES. – A term first used by Dubois (1904) to designate, within the broad group of neuroses, the forms involving a predominant intervention of mental representations.
Most authors use the terms “neurosis” and “p.” indifferently, as synonyms; only psychoanalysts reserve the term p. for particular forms called “transference neuroses” (v. PSICOTERAPIA).
Leaving aside the many varieties encountered in the various modern classifications, it may be said that p., which appears without an anomalous personality and without a sufficient psychogenic cause, may be designated by the general concept of “illness,” in parallel with psychosis. Thus, there would be a hysterical, an obsessive, a neurasthenic p. (with four varieties: simple, psychasthenic, phobic, hypochondriacal), and a dysphoric one (with two varieties: pseudoneurasthenic melancholia in depressed dysphorics, anxiety p. in anxious dysphorics). The pure forms could be combined into mixed p.s, e.g.: anxiety and alarm, hysteroneurasthenic, obsessive-anxious, alarm and compulsion, etc.
For the symptomatology and differential diagnosis of the various forms of p., see the respective entries.
A very important form from the medico-legal point of view should be mentioned, namely, compensation p. (or sinistros, Rentenneurose), which is a mediated post-traumatic psychogenic syndrome whose clinical profile, with claims-oriented representations, may justify a distinct nosography. In this condition, the importance of the psychic or somatic trauma is universally considered entirely secondary to the injured person’s insurance situation; the great majority of injured persons would not present a post-traumatic syndrome were they not insured. An important factor is the influence of the premorbid personality. Symptomatically, neurasthenic, hysterical (psychogenic pseudodementia), hypochondriacal (with a querulous attitude), and mixed pictures are observed. At times, the differential diagnosis from a pure psychoneurotic picture may be very difficult. The picture generally disappears rapidly as soon as the injured person has obtained compensation.
As regards moral imputability, V. PSICOPATICHE PERSONALITÀ.