Sergei Sergeyevich Korsakov (; 22 January 1854, Gus-Khrustalny – 1 May 1900,

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

) was a

neuropsychiatrist Neuropsychiatry is a branch of medicine that deals with psychiatry as it relates to neurology, in an effort to understand and attribute behavior to the interaction of neurobiology and social psychology factors. Within neuropsychiatry, the mind i ...

from the Russian Empire, known for his studies on alcoholic psychosis. His name is lent to the eponymous Korsakov's syndrome and

Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), colloquially referred to as wet brain syndrome, is the combined presence of Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) and Korsakoff syndrome. Due to the close relationship between these two disorders, people with either ar ...

Early life and education

Sergei Korsakov was the first great Russian neuropsychiatrist. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

at the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, graduated in 1875 and subsequently became a

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

at the ''"Preobrazhenski"'' ()

mental hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with ...

. From 1876 to 1879, he gained

postgraduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

experience in the

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

for nervous diseases under

Aleksei Kozhevnikov Aleksei Yakovlevich Kozhevnikov (; 5 March 1836 - 23 October 1902) was a Russian neurologist and psychiatrist who was a native of Ryazan. Biography From 1853 until 1858 he studied medicine at the University of Moscow, and furthered his education ...

. His

thesis A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

''Alcoholic Paralysis'' gained him a medical

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1887. File:Об алкогольном параличе (Ob alkogol’nom paraliche) - 1887.jpg, Ob alkogol’nom paraliche (Alcoholic Paralysis) - 1887 File:Об алкогольном параличе (Ob alkogol’nom paraliche) - 1887 - dedica dell'autore.jpg, Ob alkogol’nom paraliche (Alcoholic Paralysis) - 1887 - author's dedication

Career

In 1892, Korsakov was appointed

professor extraordinarius Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

at a new university

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, mood, emotion, and behavior. Initial psychiatric assessment of ...

clinic. During this time, he visited

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where he was a pupil of

Theodor Meynert Theodor Hermann Meynert (; 15 June 1833 – 31 May 1892) was a German-Austrian psychiatrist, neuropathologist, and anatomist, born in Dresden. Meynert believed that disturbances in brain development could be a predisposition for psychiatric illne ...

. He was ''ordinarius'' of

neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...

and

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of deleterious mental disorder, mental conditions. These include matters related to cognition, perceptions, Mood (psychology), mood, emotion, and behavior. ...

from 1899 until his

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

the next year. He died from heart failure at the age of 46.

Legacy

Korsakov was one of the greatest neuropsychiatrists of the 19th century and published numerous works in

neuropathology Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either small surgical biopsies or whole-body autopsies. Neuropathologists usually work in a department of anatomic pathology, but work closely with the clini ...

, and

forensic medicine Forensic medicine is a broad term used to describe a group of medical specialties which deal with the examination and diagnosis of individuals who have been injured by or who have died because of external or unnatural causes such as poisoning, assa ...

. Apart from his studies on

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

psychosis In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or inco ...

, he introduced the concept of

paranoia Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of co ...

and wrote an excellent

textbook A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions, but also of learners ( ...

on psychiatry published in 1893. Additionally, he was a proponent of the non-restraint treatment in psychiatry. Korsakov studied the effects of

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

on the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...

and drew attention to several cases of alcoholic

polyneuropathy Polyneuropathy () is damage or disease affecting peripheral nerves (peripheral neuropathy) in roughly the same areas on both sides of the body, featuring weakness, numbness, and burning pain. It usually begins in the hands and feet and may prog ...

with distinctive mental

symptom Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

s ( Korsakov's syndrome). An able organiser, Korsakov was instrumental in founding the Moscow Society of Neuropathologists and Psychiatrists. The ''Zhurnal nevropatologii i psikhiatrii imeni Korsakova'' (, ''

Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry The ''Korsakov Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry'' (Russian: Журнал неврологии и психиатрии им. С. С. Корсакова, lit. 'Journal of Neurology and Psychiatry named after S. S. Korsakov') is a Russian peer-r ...

'') was named after him. According to a study conducted in 2015, Korsakov was included in "Russia team on medicine". This list includes fifty-three famous Russian medical scientists from the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

who were born in 1757—1950. Physicians of all specialities listed here. Among them

Vladimir Bekhterev Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev ( rus, Влади́мир Миха́йлович Бе́хтерев, p=ˈbʲextʲɪrʲɪf; 20 January 1857 – 24 December 1927) was a Russian neurologist and the father of objective psychology. He is best known fo ...

Vladimir Demikhov Vladimir Petrovich Demikhov (; 31 July 1916 – 22 November 1998) was a Soviet Russian scientist and organ transplantation pioneer, who performed several transplants in the 1940s and 1950s, including the transplantation of a heart into an anim ...

Ivan Pavlov Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (, ; 27 February 1936) was a Russian and Soviet experimental neurologist and physiologist known for his discovery of classical conditioning through his experiments with dogs. Pavlov also conducted significant research on ...

Nikolay Pirogov Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (Russian: Николай Иванович Пирогов; – ) was a Russian scientist, medical doctor, pedagogue, public figure, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847), one of the most wi ...

Victor Skumin Victor Andreevich Skumin ( rus, Ви́ктор Андре́евич Ску́мин, p=ˈvʲiktər ɐnˈdrʲejɪvʲɪtɕ ˈskumʲɪn, born 30 August 1948) is a Russian and Soviet scientist, psychiatrist, philosopher and writer. After graduating ...

Associated eponyms

* '' Korsakov's syndrome'': Amnestic-confabulatory syndrome with three salient features (1) severe

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...

defect, especially for recent events; (2)

confabulation Confabulation is a memory error consisting of the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world. It is generally associated with certain types of brain damage (especially aneurysm in the anterior com ...

(i.e., falsification of memory in an alert, responsive individual); and (3)

(''psychosis polyneuritica''), usually associated with

and

malnutrition Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients which adversely affects the body's tissues a ...

. * '' Wernicke-Korsakov syndrome'' or ''Polioencephalitis haemorrhagica superior'' associated with ''Korsakov's psychosis'': A condition characterized by

nystagmus Nystagmus is a condition of involuntary (or voluntary, in some cases) Eye movement (sensory), eye movement. People can be born with it but more commonly acquire it in infancy or later in life. In many cases it may result in visual impairment, re ...

, ocular and

Conjugate gaze palsy Conjugate gaze palsies are neurological disorders affecting the ability to move both eyes in the same direction. These palsies can affect gaze in a horizontal, upward, or downward direction. These entities overlap with ophthalmoparesis and ophth ...

ataxia Ataxia (from Greek α- negative prefix+ -τάξις rder= "lack of order") is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in e ...

and

due to nutritional deficiency, more specifically of

thiamine Thiamine, also known as thiamin and vitamin B1, is a vitamin – an Nutrient#Micronutrients, essential micronutrient for humans and animals. It is found in food and commercially synthesized to be a dietary supplement or medication. Phosp ...

and observed mainly, though not exclusively, in alcoholics.

Publications

*1890 ''Eine psychische Störung combiniert mit multipler Neuritis'' (Psychosis polyneuritica seu Cerebropathia psychica toxaemica) *1890 ''Ueber eine besondere Form psychischer Störung, combiniert mit multipler Neuritis''

Early life and education

Career

Legacy

Associated eponyms

Publications

References

Further reading