Abstract

Organic brain syndromes are becoming an increasing source of social, economic, and public health issues. There is no single symptom that is pathognomonic in the diagnosis of organic brain syndrome. Disruptions in cognitive processes like memory, thinking, perception, and attention are at the heart of organic brain syndrome. Emotional expression is altered, and alertness and vigilance are thrown off. Compensatory, protective, and reactive symptoms blur the clinical picture. Impaired cerebral function and the individual's subjective meaning of the illness are the most significant psychopathogenetic mechanisms of organic brain syndrome. Organic brain syndromes can be broken down into seven purely descriptive clusters using the DSM-III classification system established by the American Psychiatric Association.