[The Schreber case and Freudian dynamic psychopathology of psychoses]

We examined the diversity of diagnoses for the Schreber case, which was documented in "Memoirs of My Nervous Illness". Although Schreber became widely known as a paranoiac (or schizophrenic) patient after the publication of Freud's paper in 1911, some psychiatrists who use the operational diagnostic system have regarded him as a case of depression (or mood disorder). At present, the diagnosis of the Schreber case is divided between schizophrenia and mood disorder, which is based on the 'Kraepelinian dichotomy'. Recently, this dichotomy has been criticized as an unreasonable one, and some aspects of mood disorders are being discussed as resulting from the same biological foundation as schizophrenia. Similarly, many psychoanalysts found the same libidinal disturbance of these disorders. From the Freudian dynamic viewpoint, we conclude that schizophrenia and endogenous mood disorders have the common pathway (libidinal disturbance) in their acute phase. The findings of our literature review indicate that Freudian dynamic and economic perspective can shed a new light on the endogenous psychoses.