In season 4 / episode 23 Mulder and Scully talk about the Waxman-Geshwind Syndrome.
Sometimes Syndromes and/or Phenomenons that are part of the episode, exists in reality.
Does Waxman-Geschwind exist in reality?
4
-
1Not sure about the worth of correcting the spelling in a way which makes the OP look like they can't use Google. – Valorum Mar 2 '16 at 19:10
-
eh maybe - I just figured English not first language and was being helpful to the overall ethic of the site :) – NKCampbell Mar 2 '16 at 19:17
-
@Richard yes, i was lost in translation and had no idea that there is a transcript for the episodes. – Peter Rader Mar 2 '16 at 19:46
6
Yes, it's a real (albeit controversial) neuro-psychological condition
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschwind_syndrome
"Geschwind syndrome, also known as Gastaut-Geschwind, is a group of behavioral phenomena evident in some people with temporal lobe epilepsy. It is named for one of the first individuals to categorize the symptoms, Norman Geschwind, who published prolifically on the topic from 1973 to 1984. There is controversy surrounding whether it is a true neuropsychiatric disorder.
Temporal lobe epilepsy causes chronic, mild, interictal (i.e. between seizures) changes in personality, which slowly intensify over time. Geschwind syndrome includes five primary changes; hypergraphia,hyperreligiosity, atypical (usually reduced) sexuality, circumstantiality, and intensified mental life.
The "Waxman" part comes from that Stephen G. Waxman, MD, PhD was co-author on one of the pivotal papers.
-
Beat me to it by a matter of seconds and a more comprehensive answer. – FuzzyBoots Mar 2 '16 at 19:09
-
-
I'll kill my comment since the answer has been updated with the Waxman info now :) I was likely typing it out while it was getting updated – NKCampbell Mar 2 '16 at 19:16
5
The transcript also labels it Dostoevsky Syndrome which also has a real-life corollary:
The fullest description of what have been termed ‘religious seizures’, comes from the writing of Dostoyevsky (hence the sobriquet ‘Dostoyevsky seizures’), particularly in the character of Prince Myshkin in ‘The Idiot,’ whose epilepsy is a key motif throughout the book.
The seizures described by Dostoyevsky do not have explicit religious content, so the term ‘religious seizure’ is unhelpful. More accurate perhaps is James Leuba’s ‘ecstatic seizures’. In his 1925 classic, he describes some cases.
From Royal College of Psychiatrists publication
answered Mar 2 '16 at 19:12
