["Alternative psychosis" illustrated by a clinical case]

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Historical links between epilepsy and schizophrenia-like reactions have been noted since the last century.
• Convulsive treatments were explored for both epilepsy and psychosis by Von Meduna in 1934.
• Landolt described 'forced normalization' in 1953, an EEG improvement during psychosis in epileptic patients.

Observation:

• A case study of a 27-year-old man with epilepsy and no psychiatric background presented with an acute 2-week psychotic episode.
• The concept of 'alternative psychosis' highlights the absence of epileptic seizures during these psychotic episodes.

Findings:

• The term 'alternative psychosis' was introduced to describe psychotic episodes in epileptic individuals.
• Tellenbach emphasized the clinical absence of epileptic seizures during these episodes and detailed their symptomatology.

Implications:

• This work refines the understanding of psychosis in the context of epilepsy.
• It may inform differential diagnosis and treatment strategies for patients with comorbid epilepsy and psychotic symptoms.