Chapter 80

Impulse-Control Disorders

Daphne Simeon

Daphne Simeon

Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

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Heather Berlin

Heather Berlin

Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

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First published: 16 April 2008

Summary

The impulse-control disorders (intermittent explosive disorder, kleptomania, pyromania, pathological gambling, and trichotillomania) share the feature of the irresistible urge to act in a given way. Effort to resist may be associated with rising tension, giving rise to further need to act on the given impulse. This chapter reviews clinical features, epidemiology, and clinical interventions. Data suggesting perturbations of central serotonin function and other neurotransmitter systems are reviewed.

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