Jumping Frenchmen, Miryachit, and Latah: Culture-Specific Hyperstartle-Plus Syndromes

In the late 19th century, jumping (French Canadians in Maine, USA), miryachit (Siberia), and latah (Southeast Asia) were among a group of similar disorders described around the world, each of which manifests as an exaggerated startle response with additional late-response features that were felt by some to overlap with hysteria or tics. The later features following the exaggerated startle reaction variably include mimesis (e.g., echopraxia, echolalia) and automatic obedience. These reaction patterns tended to persist indefinitely in affected individuals. Because of their dramatic stimulus-driven behaviors, affected individuals were prone to be teased and tormented by being repeatedly and intentionally startled. Despite clinical overlap between jumping and Tourette syndrome, these entities are now recognized as distinct: in jumping, the key feature is an abnormal startle response, the abnormal reaction is always provoked, and tics are absent, whereas in Tourette syndrome, the key feature is spontaneous motor and vocal tics, although patients with Tourette syndrome may occasionally also have an exaggerated startle response. These disorders have been conceptualized from anthropological, psychodynamic, and neurobiologic perspectives, with no complete resolution to date. Attempts at treatment have been generally unsuccessful, including attempts with bromization and hypnosis, although anecdotal reports of successful deconditioning have been published. In population groups affected, these disorders are usually considered as behavioral peculiarities and not as diseases per se, and there is no apparent tendency to develop disabling mental illness or neurodegenerative disorders. The genesis of these disorders, their cultural and social components, and their interactions with the presumed underlying physiological substrate need further study. Careful descriptive and analytic epidemiological studies are also lacking for all of these disorders.