‘Brain fag’: a syndrome associated with ‘overstudy’ and mental exhaustion in 19th century Britain

Figures & data

Figure 1. Bibliometric timeline showing the comparative frequency of the terms ‘Overstudy’ and ‘Brain Fag’ in books (1800–2000).

Figure 2. British and American Newspaper Articles referring to ‘Brain Fag’ vs ‘Neurasthenia’ [1870–2005].

Figure 3. Bibliometric timeline showing the comparative frequency of the terms ‘Brain Fag’ and ‘Brain Fag Syndrome’ in books (1800–2000).

Figure 4. Dunglison (1851) Medical Lexicon, page 596.

Table

1901	Brain fag: exhaustion due to overwork with the brain	(American. med. dict. 1901)
1910	Brain fag: the effects on the brain of mental overwork	(Lippincott's med. dict. 1910)
1913	Cerebropathy: A hypochondriacal condition verging upon insanity, occurring in those whose brains have been unduly taxed; – also called brain fag^a	(Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, 1913)
1958	Brain fag: extreme mental fatigue)	(Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dict., New York 1958
1989	Brain-fag: exhaustion of the brain by prolonged mental strain.	(Oxford English Dictionary 1989)

^a This appears to be nearly identical to the Dunglison (1851) and OED Online (2020) definition.

Figure 5. Media – Newspaper Articles Citing Brain Fag (1850s–2010s).

OED Online. (2020). Oxford English Dictionary Volume II.

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