Seizures involving secondary sensory and related areas

Five patients with seizures involving the secondary sensory and/or related areas (SSRA) are presented. Four of five experienced ictal numbness and/or tingling bilaterally and/or axially; this involved fingertips (three patients), lips (two), tongue (two), and was diffuse in one. The fifth patient experienced bilateral ictal pain. Associated ictal symptoms implicating adjacent regions appeared in all five patients, including contralateral clonic movements (two patients), hypersalivation (two), taste (one), vocalization (two), dysphagia (one), and contralateral sensory march (one). Two patients had ictal symptoms suggestive of adjacent temporal lobe involvement. By history, the SSRA was involved at seizure onset in four and by spread in one. All five patients had electroencephalogram (EEG) or subdural EEG supportive evidence of SSRA involvement: ictal (three) and interictal (three). Three patients had lesions in this area shown by magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomography and all three had histologically proven glial tumours. Relevant experimental physiological and anatomical data are reviewed.