Physics and Astronomy Calendar

The interaction of psychiatry with culture and society at large, as well as with the sciences and technology make a fascinating subject matter for the historian. Ever since electricity became a object of science during the eighteenth century there has been speculation about the role of electricity in the nervous system and the use of electricity for therapeutic purposes in psychiatry. From this perspective I will address three topics: madness and electricity in the 18th century; the importance of electrophysiology and electrotherapy in establishing biological psychiatry and neurology in 19th century Germany and the debate on electroconvulsive therapy during the last decades of the 20th century.

Cosponsored by The Bakken Museum