Handwriting as an Indicate of Disease.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXI, Issue 8959, 7 December 1905, Page 1

Handwriting as an Indicate of Disease.

The more enthusiastic devotee graphology would have us believe tit physical 7md mental characteristics 1 themselves in the handwriting. S< has not. yet formally adopted this op hut it appears that the study of ham ing may often furnish a valuable cl cases of mental disease. In a boo "Writing and Drawing in Nervous Mental .Affections," recently pttblishe .1. Rogues do Fursac. formerly clii. clinics in the Paris medical faculty (1 iGOS), the author shows how such in nation is often a valuable aid ill diail and Mr Henri I'ieron, who review? bonk in the Revue .Sceutiliquc (i'aris, tember 23), even thinks that it may t in certain instances as the sole mean detecting disease, so characteristic is chirography peculiar to epilepsy,to mi :o hysteria, and other nervous affect Air Pieron writes: —"Handwriting, ; motor manifestation, translates the an< lies of motility, and so far as language lio so, the anomalies of the mind.'' r words of the author justify the clii essay that he presents on writing drawing in nervous pathology, where troubles of motility are most import aiul in mental pathology, where the portant symptoms are alterations of i written language. "This is not the s as graphology : the pln'sician takes as graphology not only the graphic cha ters, but the writing, tlie spelling, the s i tax, the style, and Mie ideas; he has mind not only writing itself,, but its ap] ation. Nevertheless, there are facts e mon, to this subject and graphology, w out investigation of the delicate connect that may exist between the motor m; testations of handwriting and trait 6 character or intellectual and moral qu ties; the task is on a larger scale, pathological alterations may be marked liaadwriting by very accentuated charact istics. Several authors have alrea sought' to iiml the signs of diagnosis handwriting. Mr Rogues do Fursac, direct examination of a largo number patients has made up a collection that 1 real clinical interest. After having exa ined elementary calligraphic peculiariti such as the general fonn of writir the direction of lines and letters, etc., I Rogues de Fursac studies the direction graphic images by eti'acemcnt- or by co fusion, by graphic aspasia or agraphia, (na tial loss of memory), or by general wea ening of the memory, more or less acce tuated amnesia. Lack of attention clearly marked by omissions or inabili to "copy; arid mental automatism is shov by substitutions, transpositions, additioi stereotypy, graphic impulsion, etc. second part of the volume is devoted t the examination of various cliaracteri t ;c mental maladies—especially nervous a feet ions of motor manifestation, with tl handwriting characteristic of shaking pals or chorea, tabes, writer's cramp, etc. 1 epilepsy the effect on writing is less sp. cific perhaps than tho author seems to ir dicate, but- it is generally very charcu teristic in general paralysis. Finally, th author examines the writing of persons i states of mental confusion, maniacal, o melancholic states, neurasthenia with it hesitation and rapid fatigue of tho atter lion, hysteria with its varied troubles and constitutional psyclvopathy." The T( viewer regrets that the Author'has not lai down in his book the principles of u. syi tem of diagnostics based wholly on hm writing instead of simply indicating hoi orthographic symptoms may be used'to ai those of other types. In many instance! he thinks the disease from which a perso is suffering may he Tevealcd by a sing) letter from his -hand, or even by a. fe\ imcs_ of his handwriting. At any Tak this is a, matter, ho thinks, worthy of mos thorough discussion.