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Updated: Apr 18, 2026
Network Analysis of Foramen Ovale Electrode Recordings in Drug-resistant Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients
Published on: December 18, 2016
Lateralising value of experiential hallucinations in temporal lobe epilepsy
Lukas Heydrich1, Guillaume Marillier2, Nathan Evans2
1Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Brain-Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland Department of Neurology, University Hospital Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Objectives:
Ever since John Hughlings Jackson first described the so-called 'dreamy state' during temporal lobe epilepsy, that is, the sense of an abnormal familiarity (déjà vu) or vivid memory-like hallucinations from the past (experiential hallucinations), these phenomena have been studied and repeatedly linked to mesial temporal lobe structures. However, little is known about the lateralising value of either déjà vu or experiential hallucinations.
Methods:
We analysed a sample of 28 patients with intractable focal epilepsy suffering from either déjà vu or experiential hallucinations. All the patients underwent thorough presurgical examination, including MRI, positron emission tomography, single-photon emission CT, EEG and neuropsychological examination.
Results:
While déjà vu was due to right or left mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, experiential hallucinations were strongly lateralised to the left mesial temporal lobe. Moreover, there was a significant effect for interictal language deficits being more frequent in patients suffering from experiential hallucinations.
Conclusions:
These results suggest a lateralising value for experiential hallucinations to the left temporal lobe.
