Athymhormic syndrome

Athymhormic syndrome, or psychic akinesia, is a rare neurological syndrome characterized by extreme passivity, apathy, and a profound generalized loss of self-motivation. For example, a patient might sustain severe burns on contact with a hot stove, due to lacking the will to move away despite experiencing severe pain.

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First described by French neurologist Dominique Laplane in 1982 as ""PAP syndrome" (French: perte d'auto-activation psychique, or "loss of psychic autoactivation"), the syndrome is believed to be due to damage to areas of the basal ganglia or frontal cortex responsible for motivation and executive functions.

It is characterized by an absence of voluntary motion without any apparent motor deficit, and patients often describe a complete mental void or blank. This is accompanied by reduced affect or emotional concern (athymhormy) and often by compulsions, repetitive actions, or tics. After stimulation from the outside, such as a direct command, the patient is able to move normally and carry out complex physical and mental tasks for as long as they are prompted to continue.