Inkblots and Neurons

Abstract

The idea that the Rorschach can be used to study brain-behavior relationships dates back to Hermann Rorschach's seminal work, in which a quarter of the clinical cases presented were neurological (Rorschach, 1921).At the time, the distinction between "organic" and "nonorganic" mental disorders had not been clearly drawn.Psychiatric facilities, such as the one Rorschach practiced and gathered his data in, typically diagnosed and treated a wide range of both mental and neurological disorders, including epilepsy, mental retardation, brain tumors, traumatic brain injuries, dementia, and other conditions.Following Rorschach's death in 1922, the suggestion that the Rorschach could be used as a neuropsychological tool was more explicitly articulated by Piotrowski (1936), one of the great pioneers of the Rorschach, who developed a list of ten empirically-based "organic signs."These signs are, to this day, considered a useful tool for identifying patients with neurocognitive disorders, and for describing some of the neuropsychological characteristics commonly observed in such patients.Piotrowski observed that patients suffering from organic disorders of the brain typically: (1) give a lower number of responses on the Rorschach, (2) need more time to produce responses, (3) give less responses with human movement, (4) tend to name colors, instead of using them as determinants in their responses, (5) give less responses that fit the formal characteristics of the blots, (6) give a lower number of popular responses (responses occurring at least in every third protocol administered), (7) give numerous perseverative responses, (8) have trouble correcting responses they perceive to be of poor quality or inadequate ("impotence"), (9) express perplexity throughout the task and tend to repeatedly seek reassurance from the examiner, and (10) tend to use repetitive "pet-expressions" throughout the task (e.g., "This is a work of art … This is a beautiful work of art … This is a nice piece of work", etc.).Piotrowski's idea was that it is the accumulation of these signs in a Rorschach protocol which increases the probability of

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