latah

Latah (from Malay word) is a condition in which abnormal behaviors result from a person experiencing a sudden shock or other external stressor almost exclusively having been observed in persons from Malaysia, Indonesia, and other Southeast Asian countries. When induced, the affected person typically engages in such behaviors as screaming, cursing, dance movements, uncontrollable laughter, mimicry and command obedience. Physical symptoms include an increased heart rate and profuse sweating, but no clear physiological causality beyond the apparent relationship between sudden shock and/or severe emotional stress have been identified. Since no research has emerged indicating whether the behavior is caused by a genetic disorder unique to those of Southeast Asian ancestry, a set of psychosomatic symptoms triggered by Southeast Asian cultural anthropological factors, or another cause not yet hypothesized, the cause has remained undetermined.

Latah was initially considered a culture-specific startle disorder that was historically regarded as personal difference rather than an illness. Similar conditions have been recorded within other cultures and locations. For example, there are the so-called Jumping Frenchmen of Maine, imu among women of the Ainu people of Japan, mali-mali or silok among Filipinos, and bat-schi () among Thais; however, the connection among these syndromes is controversial.