Catatonia

Abstract

Catatonia is an important phenomenon in both psychiatry and general medicine. This article provides an overview of the key aspects of catatonia, including clinical features, differential diagnoses, management and prognosis. The different types of catatonia, the position of catatonia in the psychiatric classificatory systems, use of catatonia rating scales and the association between catatonia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome are also covered. Abnormalities that have been hypothesised as being possible underlying mechanisms in catatonia are highlighted. The article aims to provide clinicians with a comprehensive update on the subject, with information derived from an extensive range of relevant references.