Argentine psychiatric nosologies and nosographies

Abstract

Since the late 19th century, Argentinean psychiatrists have been developing classifications of psychiatric disorders. Their work has had local originality and fruitful exchange with international controversies on the subject. The thinking of some Argentinean psychiatrists transcended the orders of the country and was adopted in the South American region, as was the case with the classification proposed by José T. Borda. There were also historical anticipations of concepts that were not known in other latitudes: «oligotimia», a category created by Enrique Pichon-Rivière, preceded the characterization of early childhood autism by Leo Kanner. In recent decades, Argentinean psychiatrists have adopted current international classifications (DSM and CIE), but also actively participated in the elaboration of an original regional proposal: the Latin American Guide to Psychiatric Diagnosis (GLADP-VR 2012), and collaborated with the surveys carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the revision of the future ICD 11. This article provides a detailed description of Argentinian  classifications, extensively quoting each author to provide a clear understanding of their thinking, as well as critical reviews of their proposals.