witzelsucht

Witzelsucht

A manifestation of organic brain disease—e.g., tumours or ischaemic lesions of the frontal cortex—in which a patient compulsively tells puns, or relates silly jokes, often accompanied by childish behaviour, as a defence mechanism to deflect attention from memory defects

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witzelsucht [vit´sel-zo̳kt] (Ger.)

a mental condition marked by the making of poor jokes and puns and the telling of pointless stories at which the speaker is intensely amused; a condition characteristic of frontal lobe lesions.

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witzelsucht

German, joke addiction, moria Neurology A manifestation of organic brain disease–eg, tumors or atherosclerosis-induced lesions of the frontal cortex, in which a Pt compulsively tells puns, or relates silly jokes, often accompanied by childish behavior, as a defense mechanism to deflect attention from memory defects