Latah

Latah is a condition, named from a Malay word, in which abnormal behaviors follow a sudden shock or other external stressor, observed almost exclusively in people from Malaysia, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. When induced, an affected person typically screams, curses, dances, laughs uncontrollably, mimics those around them or obeys commands, along with physical symptoms such as an increased heart rate and profuse sweating, though no clear physiological cause beyond the link to sudden shock or severe emotional stress has been identified. Latah was initially considered a culture-specific startle disorder, historically regarded as a personal difference rather than an illness, and similar conditions have been recorded in other cultures, including the Jumping Frenchmen of Maine, imu among Ainu women in Japan, mali-mali or silok among Filipinos, and bat-schi among Thais, although the connection among these syndromes remains controversial.