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In 1908–1909, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944), best remembered for The Scream (1893), spent eight months under Daniel Jacobson's care in a private nerve clinic in Copenhagen. Munch was suffering from alcohol abuse, and his signs and symptoms included auditory hallucinations, persecutory delusions, paresthesias, paralyses, violent mood swings, depression, loss of control, fatigue, and the loss of his basic ability to take care of himself. He was treated with rest, a fortifying diet, massages, baths, fresh air, limited exercise, and nonconvulsive electrotherapy. After he had settled in, Jacobson allowed Munch to draw, paint, and engage in photography. Munch responded with a portrait of Jacobson and a small but intriguing sketch of himself at one of his electrotherapy sessions. In this article, we examine the circumstances that brought Munch to Jacobson's clinic and his therapies, with particular attention to electrotherapies. In so doing, we hope to provide a more complete picture of Munch's crisis in 1908, his nerve doctor, the rationales for medical electricity and other treatments he endured, and Scandinavian psychiatry at this moment in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1908, Norwegian artist Edvard Munch—already famous for The Scream and other paintings showing sickness, despair, and suffering—put himself under the care of Dr. Daniel Jacobson, a nerve doctor in Copenhagen. Jacobson had previously attended some of Jean-Martin Charcot’s lectures in Paris, as had Knud Pontoppidan, his mentor. Munch, in turn, had long been showing signs and symptoms of an anxiety disorder and what might have been viewed as neurasthenia or hysteria. Now, he also seemed to be suffering from acute alcoholic toxicity. In this article, we explore Scandinavian psychiatry at the turn of the century; Jacobson and Pontoppidan’s connections to Paris; and how some of Munch’s treatments, most notably his electrotherapy sessions, related to therapeutics at La Salpêtrière. Additionally, various ways in which Munch learned about French medicine are examined. This material reveals how well-known and influential Charcot and his ideas about disorders of the brain and mind had become at the turn of the century, affecting not just the French physicians but also a world-famous artist and his nerve doctor in Scandinavia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duane E. Haines, a highly regarded and influential founding member of the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences, passed away in North Carolina on July 1, 2024. He specialized in neuroanatomy, standardized anatomical nomenclature, and contributed to the field's history. Duane received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University and held positions at West Virginia University, the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, and Wake Forest School of Medicine. He published numerous articles, chapters, and books, including a neuroanatomical atlas and a fundamental neuroscience textbook. Duane also collaborated with Régis Olry on a series of columns that were recently reissued as a book on neuroscience terms. He made notable contributions to the Society for the History of the Neurosciences and held various leadership roles within the organization. [Extracted from the article]