Psychogenic Movement Disorders and Motor Conversion: A Roadmap for Collaboration Between Neurology and Psychiatry

BackgroundThere are a host of vague terms to describe psychologically-mediated symptoms that mimic neurological disease, such as “functional,” “non-organic,” “psychogenic,” or “medically unexplained.” None of these terms has a direct translation in psychiatric classification, and psychiatrists are often faced with patients who do not believe in a psychological origin for their symptoms.ObjectiveWithin the framework of psychogenic movement disorders, we discuss the roadblocks to effective collaboration and treatment in these patients and the current state of the literature regarding diagnosis and treatment.ResultsWe describe the approach to these patients from the perspective of neurology and psychiatry, illustrating the differences in terminology and categorization.ConclusionPsychogenic movement disorders represent a unique opportunity for these fields to collaborate in the care of a potentially curable but significantly disabling disorder.