A neuropsychiatric approach to impulse disorders

Disordered impulse control (or pathologic impulsivity) is a common feature of many neurologic and psychiatric illnesses. Diagnosis is founded on comprehensive neuropsychiatric evaluation. Behavioral dyscontrol often represents pathology at multiple levels of nervous system function and requires an appropriately comprehensive treatment program. Evaluation and diagnostic classification are discussed. Several clinical synopses are presented to illustrate the common complexity of evaluation and treatment in presentations of pathologic impulsivity.