Archive 1992–2014

Views on the etiology of catatonia are briefly outlined from the historical perspective, and then current theories of this disorder are presented. Moreover, the clinical picture of catatonic syndromes is discussed on the grounds of both an abundant literature of the subject and the most recent classification systems: ICD-10 and DSM-IV. The problem of diagnostics and management of catatonic states is discussed with a special emphasis on the application of Lorazepam as proposed recently in the treatment of catatonia.