**Oligophrenia** is a mental underdevelopment of varying severity, characterized by disharmony of general mental development as a result of the pathological formation of intelligence, affective and other aspects of cognitive activity. Its name represents the Greek-Latin form of the term “dementia”, which translated means “small head” (παραφωνία – “wrong pronunciation
**Oligophrenia** is a mental disorder characterized by developmental delay, limitation of social and emotional skills while maintaining the general structure of the intellect. It can manifest itself in various forms, such as deafness, blindness, dementia, mental retardation and other diseases. This condition is often associated with **microcephaly**, a rare disease that causes a decrease in brain size. It may be caused by genetic, infectious or other reasons. However, very often, in the presence of signs of microcephaly, a direct connection between it and oligophrenia is not determined. So, **oli
Oligophrenia is a group of mental retardation that is characterized by congenital or acquired mental retardation in the form of dementia. In psychiatry, several types of oligophrenia are distinguished. One of them is microcephaly, a birth defect in which abnormal processes occur in the development of the brain.
Microcephalic oligophenia is one of the types of this disease, which is characterized by congenital reduction of the head and a corresponding impairment of its functions. This type of oligophenia can be primary, that is, it develops in utero due to pathological processes in the mother’s body, and secondary, when the pathology occurs after the birth of the child.
Causes of microcephalic pseudo-oligophrenia and symptoms
Secondary microcephaly develops mainly under the influence of external factors. These include:
childhood infectious diseases suffered by the expectant mother; alcohol and drug addiction; harmful effects on the body of radioactive substances; uncontrolled use of medications; influence of intrauterine infections. In most cases, the consequences of exposure to these factors lead to the appearance of symptoms of pseudo-oligophria in the child. It is characterized by the following signs:
small head - it is significantly smaller than the circumference of the chest; poorly developed facial features; dwarf body growth; underdevelopment of the skull bones; irregular shape of the skull; special patterns on the hair; deterioration of hearing, vision, the appearance of myopathy. When diagnosing microcephaly, intellectual development disorders, memory loss, and delayed speech formation are detected. Moreover, patients have problems with sleep and appetite. Characterized by a low level of intelligence, children do not know how to communicate. They quickly become exhausted, cannot maintain attention, and are characterized by motor agitation and autonomic disorders. Patients are prone to seizures, but may also be highly emotional.