Functional Disorders

Overview of Functional Disorders

Functional disorder is a disorder of the function of the patient without a neurologic cause. The etiology is in the mind of the patient, usually subconsciously but sometimes with conscious intent.

Conversion disorder is considered to be a subconscious and neurologic manifestation as a representation of the underlying psychiatric etiology.

Malingering implies the conscious intent to deceive. There is usually some secondary gain, either in attention, medication, or compensation, but sometimes the etiology is unclear.

It is debated whether malingering can be truly distinguished from conversion reaction. One prominent neurologist, Raymond D. Adams, said that the neurologist can be sure only if the patient admits to deliberate falsification. In some patients, true symptoms are present, but the patient exaggerates them for secondary gain. For example, some patients with seizure disorder have both epileptic and psychogenic events.