A hypergraphic syndrome of automatic writing, affective disorder, and temporal lobe epilepsy in two patients

Two patients are described who wrote complex textual material suddenly, automatically, and without volitional control. Each met DSM-III criteria for a major affective disorder, had clinical and electrophysiologic temporal lobe epilepsy, absence spells, episodic expressive aphasia, and a history of traumatic loss of consciousness. The episodes of automatic writing met the criteria for ictal events. These patients may have experienced an ictal analogue of interictal hypergraphia. The behavioral neurologic features of this syndrome are discussed in relation to its clinical presentation and known disorders of writing.