Cyclothymia and labile personality: is all folie circulaire?

Despite such operational breadth, cyclothymia was nonetheless largely limited to the soft end of the bipolar spectrum where labile moods and depressive recurrence predominate. In this sense, it is natural to place it on the border of manic-depressive psychosis. Although Kurt Schneider was the first to describe the “labile psychopath” [personality], he believed it was unrelated to his narrow concept of cyclothymia, which he used synonymously with manic-depressive psychosis. Our data do not support his position. Instead, they support both Kretchmer's and Falret's views.