In daily practice one encounters cases which involve difficulties in differential diagnosis between the mental deficiency and schizophrenia. There have been reported in professional literature a number of cases where schizophrenic symptomatology of mental defective was noticed, and the causal relationship between these two has been the object of great interest.
The observation the author conducted on 119 mental defectives undergoing treatment at the National Institute for Mental Defectives, Seoul, Korea, has shown 18 cases of mental deficiency with prominent schizophrenic features as well. The author found 16 of them severely withdrown and autistic, 5 mute, 2 partially mute, 9 indifferent, 6 silly laughing, .5 negativiitic, 4 self-talking, 9 inadequate affection, and 7 could be primarily diagnosed as schizophrenic, the number of this last group amounting to 6% of the total observed, or a 119.
For the schizophrenic symptomatology in mental defectives as observed above three surmises may be advanced.
1. A primarily mental defective in whom gradually emerge schizophrenic process and symptoms during his development. In this case, it should be ascertained by future study -whether there is any causal interrelation between mental deficiency and schizophrenia, or the co?existence of the two syndromes in the same person was merely accidental.
2. A case of normal intelligence and development is hindered or regressed of further intellectual developement by undergoing schizopherenic process, resulting in the intellectually retarded state.
3. A case where cerebral pathology which was the causal factor of mental deficiency
picture of schizophrenic-like symptoms. E. Bleuler has pointed out that cerebral pathology sometimes induces such a picture.
In the light of above surmises, the author feels that, along with such terms as "Pfropf-
schizophrenia", "psychosis in mental defectives", and "mental deficiency with prominent schizophrenic feature" might well be put to use.
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