A HAPPY STATE OF MIND - A HISTORY OF MILD ELATION, DENIAL OF DISABILITY, OPTIMISM, AND LAUGHING IN MULTIPLE-SCLEROSIS

Although multiple sclerosis (MS) is often looked on as a disorder of t he sensory and motor systems, it can also be associated with changes i n emotion and personality. Many patients with MS seem cheerful, optimi stic about the future, and strangely unconcerned about their ongoing p hysical deterioration. In addition, patients with MS have a tendency t o break into uncontrollable laughing, even when they have no reason to be happy. This article looks at how these seemingly upbeat affective changes were viewed by early researchers of MS, including Cruveilhier, Charcot, and Moron during the 19th century and Cottrell, Wilson, and Ombredane in the 1920s. Frequently cited studies on the emotional corr elates of MS from the mid-20th century are also presented, and some tr ends in the more recent literature are identified.