An Interdisciplinary Approach to Mental Disorder among the Polar Eskimos of Northwest Greenland

A proposal for an interdisciplinary field study of the epidemiology & etiology of Pibloktoz, a form of `Arctic hysteria' found among the Polar Eskimos of the Thule district in northwest Greenland. Studies in the fields of anthrop, neuropsychiatry, & ecology are required to solve problem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anthropologica (Ottawa) 1960-01, Vol.2 (2), p.249-260
Main Authors: Wallace, Anthony F. C., Ackerman, Robert E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Approach/Approaches
Cultural ecology
Disorders
Ecology
Eskimo/Eskimos
Etiology
Greenland/Greenlander/ Greenlanders
Interdisciplinary
Marine ecology
Medical anthropology
Mental illness
Mental illness/Mentally ill
Natural history
Polar regions
Symptoms
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Summary:A proposal for an interdisciplinary field study of the epidemiology & etiology of Pibloktoz, a form of `Arctic hysteria' found among the Polar Eskimos of the Thule district in northwest Greenland. Studies in the fields of anthrop, neuropsychiatry, & ecology are required to solve problems of differential diagnosis, since the syndrome may be the result of a psychogenic hysteria, as suggested by A. A. Brill, Z. Gussow, Parker, or an epilepsy, or the result of hypocalcemia produced by nutritional, endocrinal, & sun-exposure deficit, as suggested by Leighton, A. Hoygaard, & the authors. Specific technical studies would be included: ie, electro-encephalography, blood chemistry, marine biochemistry, personal life histories, S-cut relationships, & others. It is suggested that this interdisciplinary res design could, with appropriate modifications, profitably be applied to other diseases. AA.
ISSN:0003-5459
2292-3586
DOI:10.2307/25604472