Delirious Outbursts

Delirious Outbursts (boufiees deli-rant es, delire d'emblee), transient psychotic disorders, described by the French psychiatrist Magnan in degenerates. Delirious outbursts usually occur acutely and manifest as polymorphic, unstable delusions, to which various hallucinations are often added. The outburst usually ends as quickly as it began. The outbursts can recur many times during a lifetime. With the advent of the doctrine of acute paranoia and amnesia, delirious outbursts were classified under these forms. The separation by Kraepelin of a nosological entity of early dementia undermined Magnan's doctrine of delirious outbursts, which, according to Kraepelin, should have entered in one form or another into the picture of early dementia. Recently, however, there has been a return to the abandoned views, which was particularly vividly expressed in the separation by Kleist of episodic twilight states; some of their forms are very close to Magnan's delirious outbursts. - Delirious insanity. See Paranoia.