2000, Gift of the South Carolina State Hospital.

Paper edition of a 1991 study. The subject is "a cultural complex--a disease called neurasthenia" (from the preface), examined at a specific historical "moment"--1903. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This work is designed as a supplement to the author's work on Neurasthenia (Nervous Exhaustion). In the preface to Nervous Exhaustion it was stated that the chapter on the causes was designedly omitted, inasmuch as a thorough elucidation of that side of the subject, in all its relations and dependencies, would be of so complex a character as to require a special volume of itself. The present work is, therefore, to be regarded as a chapter on causes for the treatise on Nervous Exhaustion, with these qualifications--that it embraces the whole domain of nerve sensitiveness and nerve susceptibility, that lead to the more definite condition of nervous exhaustion, and that it is of a more distinctly philosophical and popular character than that treatise, which was specially addressed to the professional and scientific reader. To those who are beginning the study of this interesting theme the following epitome of the philosophy of this work may be of assistance, as a preliminary to a detailed examination. (1) Nervousness is strictly deficiency or lack of nerve-force. This condition, together with all the symptoms of diseases that are evolved from it, has developed mainly within the nineteenth century, and is especially frequent and severe in the Northern and Eastern portions of the United States. (2) The chief and primary cause of this development and very rapid increase of nervousness is modern civilization, which is distinguished from the ancient by these five characteristics : steampower, the periodical press, the telegraph, the sciences, and the mental activity of women. (3) Secondary and tertiary causes (i.e., climate, institutions--civil, political, and religious, social and business--personal habits, indulgence of appetites and passions) are of themselves without power to induce nervousness, save when they supplement and are interwoven with the modern forms of civilization. (4) The sign and type of functional nervous diseases that are evolved out of this general nerve sensitiveness is neurasthenia (nervous exhaustion). (5) The greater prevalence of nervousness in America is a complex resultant of a number of influences, the chief of which are dryness of the air, extremes of heat and cold, civil and religious liberty, and the great mental activity made necessary and possible in a new and productive country under such climatic conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved).

Describes how late Victorian culture encouraged the evolution of art as a career, discussing such "inventions" as art therapy and bohemianism, and exploring artists' complicated and confused gender roles

American national trade bibliography.

The Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences, Second Edition, Four Volume Set develops from the first edition, covering all areas of neurological sciences through over 1000 entries focused on a wide variety of topics in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry and other related areas of neuroscience. The contributing authors represent all aspects of neurology from many viewpoints and disciplines to provide a complete overview of the field. Entries are designed to be understandable without detailed background knowledge in the subject matter, and cross-referencing and suggested further reading lead the reader from a basic knowledge of the subject to more advanced understanding. The easy-to-use 'encyclopedic-dictionary' format of the Encyclopedia of the Neurological Sciences, Second Edition features alphabetic entries, extensive cross-referencing, and a thorough index for quick reference. The wealth of information provided by these four volumes makes this reference work a trusted source of valuable information for a wide range of researchers, from undergraduate students to academic researchers. Provides comprehensive coverage of the field of neurological science in over 1,000 entries in 4 volumes "Encyclopedic-dictionary" format provides for concise, readable entries and easy searching Presents complete, up-to-date information on 32 separate areas of neurology Entries are supplemented with extensive cross-referencing, useful references to primary research articles, and an extensive index

Music has been used as a cure for disease since as far back as King David's lyre, but the notion that it might be a serious cause of mental and physical illness was rare until the late eighteenth century. At that time, physicians started to argue that excessive music, or the wrong kind of music, could over-stimulate a vulnerable nervous system, leading to illness, immorality and even death. Since then there have been successive waves of moral panics about supposed epidemics of musical nervousness, caused by everything from Wagner to jazz and rock 'n' roll. It was this medical and critical debate that provided the psychiatric rhetoric of "degenerate music" that was the rationale for the persecution of musicians in Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. By the 1950s, the focus of medical anxiety about music shifted to the idea that "musical brainwashing" and "subliminal messages" could strain the nerves and lead to mind control, mental illness and suicide. More recently, the prevalence of sonic weapons and the use of music in torture in the so-called War on Terror have both made the subject of music that is bad for the health worryingly topical. This book outlines and explains the development of this idea of pathological music from the Enlightenment until the present day, providing an original contribution to the history of medicine, music and the body.

July 1918-1943 include reports of various neurological and psychiatric societies.