The Diagnosis of Love‐Sickness: Experimental Psychophysiology Without the Polygraph

Psychophysiological concepts and methodology are central to the practices of Erasistratos, Galen, and Avicenna, great physicians of antiquity whose lives span a period in history from the third century, B.C., to the eleventh century, A.D. This point is illustrated by means of a diagnostic vignette common to all three physicians’clinical experience, namely, the discovery of a concealed love object by monitoring changes in pulse rate. Within the context of these case sketches can be found the seeds of modern concepts in psychophysiology and psychosomatic medicine. Some of the texts examined are new translations of Greek and Latin originals.