A culture-specific syndrome observed initially in West Africa. It refers to a condition experienced by high school or university students in response to the challenges of schooling. Symptoms in clude difficulties in concentrating, remembering, and thinking. “Brain tiredness” or fatigue from “too much thinking” are idioms of distress in many cultures, and resulting syndromes resemble certain anxiety, depressive, and somatoform disorders.
Brain fag, or brain fog, is a culture-bound psychiatric syndrome found in West Africa (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). This syndrome is a condition experienced by high school or university students in response to challenges of schooling. Brain fag is also termed brain fatigue in certain regions of Africa and is perceived as an idiom of distress in many cultures.