"Jumping Frenchmen of Maine" : Myriachit

Stevens, Harold

Article on a neurological disorder marked by violent and sometimes repetitive responses to startling movements or sounds, here found among French Canadian lumbermen in northern Maine. Based on an 1880 report of Dr. George M. Beard - the only author on such a phenomenon at the time - and his research in Maine's Moosehead Lake Region in the 19th century. How Beard's "jumping" condition compares with the similar conditions of "myriachit" and "latah," with references made to Gilles de la Tourette's research and the neurological syndrome named after him. Certain cases of the disorder's varying manifestations among those who possessed it, and the disorder's apparent disappearance.

1965-03-01 00:00:00

en

Journal Article

19th century; Moosehead Lake Region, Maine

3

Archives of Neurology

0003-9942

12