The legal context of voluntary and involuntary intoxication is delineated. The author reports a case of involuntary intoxication involving scopolamine toxic psychosis or delirium, in which he testified as a psychiatric expert witness. The specific psychological and physiological symptomatology produced by scopolamine intoxication is outlined. The forensic psychiatrist should be alert to the inv...

The defense of involuntary intoxication has long been an exception to the general notion that intoxication is not a defense to criminal liability. The consumption of medications prescribed by a physician can form the basis of an involuntary-intoxication defense. In this article, I review cases where defendants relied on the use of prescribed medications for an involuntary-intoxication defense. ...

Richard Cytowic has argued that synesthetic experimentation by modern artists was based on deliberate contrivances of sensory fusion and not on involuntary experiences of cross-modal association. He has placed artistic experiments with sensory fusion outside the domain of synesthesia research. Artistic experiments, though historically interesting, are considered irrelevant for the study of syne...

This case describes the treatment of severe involuntary movements in a 10-year-old boy suffering from cerebral palsy. Needling GB34 and ST36 bilaterally for 25 minutes resulted in immediate temporary cessation of involuntary extension contractions of the erector spinae muscles for the duration of the treatment, resulting in increased functionality in the patient. This response occurred regularl...

The Rivers v. Katz decision substituted judicial review for administrative review of requests for involuntary medication of patients in New York State mental hospitals. This change, prompted by concern for the rights of involuntarily committed patients, did not delay or diminish the use of involuntary medication in a large state hospital. Advantages of judicial review include a better understan...

A72-year-old manpresented with paroxysmal and transient involuntary movements, or "limb shaking". The attacks occurred alternately from one side of the body to the other and ceased spontaneously. Surface EMG study showed synchronous grouping discharges in multiple limb muscles, being compatible with hemiballism-hemichorea. Cerebral angiography demonstrated marked stenosis of the bilateral inter...

The involuntary commitment of psychiatrically ill patients remains a controversial subject. Arguments have been made that involuntary commitment is a form of" social control" and as such should be totally abolished. I Others have argued that although involuntary commitments should be kept to a minimum, there is a small but significant portion of the population who are in great need of treatment...

A wide variety of movement disorders can be induced by the administration of antiepileptic drugs. A 44-year-old female was admitted with involuntary excessive eye blinking that manifested 5 months after beginning the administration of lamotrigine for control of complex partial and secondarily generalized seizures. The involuntary eye blinking persisted while taking lamotrigine, and disappeared ...