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Ergot, the "jerks," and revivals.

J M Massey, E W Massey

    Clinical Neuropharmacology
    |January 1, 1984
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    During 19th-century religious revivals, frontier communities experienced unexplained "jerks" and "epileptic trances." These symptoms, potentially linked to ergotism, challenge purely psychological explanations for mass hysteria during these events.

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    Area of Science:

    • Neurology
    • History of Medicine
    • Psychiatry

    Background:

    • Historical accounts document epidemics of epilepsy and mass hysteria across cultures in the 17th and 18th centuries.
    • The 19th-century American frontier saw unique religious movements, notably the "jerks," characterized by intense physical manifestations during revivals.

    Observation:

    • Frontier camp meetings in the early 1800s featured phenomena like the "falling," "dancing," "barking," "laughing," and "running" exercises.
    • Participants exhibited bizarre behaviors, including visions, sudden jerking motions, compulsive dancing, and "epileptic trances."
    • Affected individuals, primarily children and young adults, experienced convulsions, hallucinations, and tremors.

    Findings:

    • While historically attributed to psychological origins, the observed epidemiology of these symptoms may correlate with ergotism.

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  • Ergotism symptoms such as giddiness, fatigue, depression, formications, muscle twitching, tonic spasms, convulsions, delirium, and loss of speech align with reported revival phenomena.

    • Implications:

    • This correlation suggests a potential environmental or dietary factor (ergotism) contributing to historical mass hysteria events.
    • Re-evaluating historical epidemics through an ergotism lens may offer new insights into the interplay of environmental toxins, religious fervor, and neurological symptoms.
    • Understanding ergotism's role could refine differential diagnoses for historical neurological and psychiatric phenomena.