Hysteria around the world.

In the 20th century the term hysteria declined and the interest in the hysteria-related diseases decreased in comparison to the florid period of studies that was inspired by Charcot's legacy in the second half of the 19th century. Scientific interest has once again increased in the 21st century, and dissociative and somatoform disorders (previously indicated as hysteria or hysterical neurosis) have come to be regarded as conditions that are known to be much more prevalent than formerly estimated. Available current epidemiological data from several countries on different continents (adopting DSM criteria for diagnosis) suggest not only that the prevalence is probably similar, but also that there is a consistency in their clinical manifestation around the world and across different cultures, social classes, and institutional settings. In line with this uniformity, and also with Charcot's concept of hysteria as a functional disorder, neuroimaging studies suggest that for some of these disorders, there might be some changes of neural connectivity in specific pathways at the origin of the behavioral aspects. Only large-scale multidisciplinary transcultural studies can improve the research and the development of therapeutic interventions for these disorders.