Ganser syndrome (pseudodementia; nonsense syndrome; prison psychosis syndrome) 4

General: Found in prisoners and patients with schizoph 656g62g renia; disparity between the person's complaints and mental alertness.

Ocular: Patient pretends that he or she cannot see or read; no objective findings on examination of visual function.

Clinical: Patient pretends not to know how to do simple things previously familiar to him or her (not to know his or her age, how to spell or read, etc.); mild degree of mental deficiency; amnesia; analgesia; confusion; lethargy; apathetic indifference; headache.

Ganser SJ. Uber Einen Eigenartigen Hysterischen Dammerzustand. Arch Psychiatr Nervenkrankh 1898; 30:633.

Magalini SI, Scrascia E. Dictionary of Medical Syndromes. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: JB Lippincott, 1981.