The alterations in structure which would take place in the brain through the trauma Oppenheim conceived as a delicate physical process similar to that which occurs in the iron filing when it comes into contact with the magnet.
The sarcastic Gaupp designates such specious physical and physiological speculations as brain mythology and molecular mythology. But in our opinion he does mythology an injustice.
The material brought forward by Oppenheim to support his views was in no way suited to uphold his abstruse theories. To be sure, he described with his usual precision characteristic symptoms, which this war has produced in deplorable numbers, and also gave to them somewhat high-sounding names (Akinesia amnestica, Myotonoklonia trepidans) that said nothing as to their nature; these descriptions, however, are not especially convincing with reference to his theoretical conceptions[2].
There were, it is true, many who agreed with Oppenheim’s views, though for the most part with limitations. Goldscheider holds that the cause of these nervous symptoms is partly physical and partly psychical; Cassierer, Schuster and Birnbaum are of the same opinion. Wollenberg’s question, as to whether the war neuroses were caused through emotion or shock, Aschaffenburg answered by stating that there was here concerned the joint effect of emotion and concussion. As one of the few who obstinately persisted in maintaining the mechanistic idea I will mention Lilienstein, who categorically demanded that the word and the concept of “mind”, also that of “functional” and “psychic”, and more especially that of “psycho-genesis” should be struck out of the medical terminology; he maintained that this would simplify the conflict and facilitate the investigation, treatment and examination of the casualties; the progressive anatomical technique would certainly sooner or later discover the material foundations of the neuroses.
We must here refer to the train of thought pursued by V. Sarbó, who seeks for the cause of the war neuroses in the microscopical destruction of tissue and hemorrhages in the central organ of the nervous system; these, he says, originate through direct concussion, sudden pressure of the cerebro-spinal fluid, compression of the spinal cord in the foramen magnum, etc. V. Sarbó’s theory is only supported by a few authors. In this connection I might mention Sachs and Freud, who consider that the shock puts the nerve cells into a condition of heightened excitability and exhaustability, which is then the immediate cause of the neuroses. Finally, Bauer and Fauser look upon the traumatic neuroses as the nervous results of disturbances of the endocrine glands produced by the shock, and as similar therefore to the post-traumatic Basedow’s disease.