[From querulous neurosis to querulous delusion: the psychopathological aspects of persistent dysfunctional complaining].

Background: The clinical concept of querulous behaviour is used only sporadically in modern psychiatry, although the concept seems to be just as clinical relevant as it was many years ago. The extension of the right to complain has played a role in the acceptance of querulous behaviour. Judicial bodies and other government organisations are being kept busier than ever because people who feel they have been denied justice became entangled in interminable litigation.

[Dopamine dysregulation syndrome in a patient with Parkinson's disease; a case report].

Both Parkinson's disease and its treatment can be associated with psychiatric symptoms. We illustrate this link by focusing on a patient suffering from Parkinson's who received not only deep brain stimulation but also excessive amounts of dopaminergic drugs, a combination that resulted in hypomania which is also known as dopamine dysregulation syndrome. We discuss the symptoms, possible aetiological pathways and the implications for clinical practice.

[Acquired stuttering in a psychotic patient].

A patient admitted to a psychiatric clinic because of a psychosis, developed a stutter. In this case report we review the literature in order to explain the differential diagnosis of stuttering acquired later in life. In the patient under study we considered the late development of stuttering to be either a side-effect of olanzapine or a symptom of disorganisation.

[...with psychotic features? An investigation into the delusional nature of convictions in patients with non-psychotic disorders].

Background: In certain disorders the boundaries between thoughts, obsessions, overvalued ideas and delusions are not always clearly delineated.

Aim: To find out whether delusions can be distinguished from the convictions that often accompany anorexia nervosa, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) and hypochondriasis, all of which apparently may involve impaired reality testing.

Method: The literature was reviewed with the help of PubMed, using as key words 'delusions' in combination with 'hypochodriasis', 'anorexia nervosa', 'body image', 'obsessive compulsive disorder' or 'body dysmorphic disorder'.

[What is a delusion? A phenomenological view].

Background: The debate about dimensional or categorised classification ofsymptoms has widened to include the concept of delusions, one of the key notions in psychiatry. Although interrater agreement concerning the delusion concept is considerable, it is extremely doubtful whether approval also extends to the construct validity. Can the delusion concepts till be described according to the DSM-criteria?

Aim: To describe the history of the delusion concept and to present current views on the subject.

Pseudohallucinations: a pseudoconcept? A review of the validity of the concept, related to associate symptomatology.

"Pseudohallucination" is a concept used in the classification of nonpsychotic perceptual disorders. This report describes the history of the concept and investigates whether pseudohallucinations can be differentiated from related psychopathological symptoms, such as hallucinations, re-experiencing, and dissociative phenomena. We performed a literature review, which shows that pseudohallucinations and related symptoms have low construct validity and are, accordingly, clinically ambiguous.

[Perceptual disorders in a Turkish woman: hallucinations or pseudohallucinations?].

'Hallucinations' were diagnosed in a 41-year-old Turkish woman after the death of her father. The nature of hallucinations is often difficult to understand in patients of Turkish (or Moroccan) origin, as they can be diagnosed as a psychotic feature, or as a sign of dissociation, reexperiences, mourning, personality disorder or depression. Most of the time the symptoms can be regarded as culture-bound phenomena of psychosocial stress, often accompanied by somatoform complaints.