Latah

For other uses, see Latah (disambiguation).

Latah is a condition in which abnormal behaviors result from a person experiencing a sudden shock or other external stressor almost exclusively having been observed in persons from Southeast Asia. When induced, the affected person typically engages in such behaviors as screaming, cursing, dance movements, uncontrollable laughter, mimicry and command obedience.[1] Physical symptoms include an increased heart rate and profuse sweating, but no clear physiological causality beyond the apparent relationship between sudden shock and/or severe emotional stress have been identified. Since no research has emerged indicating whether the behavior is caused by a genetic disorder unique to those of Southeast Asian ancestry, a set of psychosomatic symptoms triggered by Southwest Asian cultural anthropological factors, or another cause not yet hypothesized, the cause has remained undetermined.

Latah was initially[2] considered a culture-specific startle disorder[3][4] that was historically regarded as personal difference rather than an illness.[1][4] Similar conditions have been recorded within other cultures and locations. For example, there are the so-called Jumping Frenchmen of Maine, imu among women of the Ainu people of Japan, mali-mali or silok among Filipinos,[5] and bat-schi (บ้าจี้) among Thais;[5] however, the connection among these syndromes is controversial.[6]

  1. ^ a b Winzeler R (April 1984). "The Study of Malayan Latah". Indonesia. 37 (37): 77–104. doi:10.2307/3350936. JSTOR 3350936.(subscription required)
  2. ^ Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV (4th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association. 1994. ISBN 0-89042-061-0. OCLC 29953039.
  3. ^ Dreissen YE, Tijssen MA (December 2012). "The startle syndromes: physiology and treatment". Epilepsia. 53 (Suppl 7): 3–11. doi:10.1111/j.1528-1167.2012.03709.x. PMID 23153204. S2CID 25418062.
  4. ^ a b Gimlette JD (August 1897). "Remarks on the Etiology, Symptoms, and Treatment of Latah, with a Report of Two Cases". British Medical Journal. 2 (1912): 455–7. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.1912.455-a. PMC 2407745. PMID 20757229.
  5. ^ a b Hahn, James Peer (1991). Latah: A Culture-specific Behavior Pattern in Malaysia and Indonesia. University of California, San Diego, Department of Anthropology.[page needed]
  6. ^ Winzeler, Robert L. (1995). Latah in Southeast Asia: The History and Ethnography of a Culture-bound Syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 33–51. ISBN 978-0-521-44077-6. Retrieved 2008-02-26.