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Depth recorded limbic seizures and psychopathology.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|January 1, 1983
Summary
Epileptic seizures originating in the limbic system correlate with changes in mental function and behavior. These limbic seizures may explain both acute "psychical seizures" and longer-term personality changes in epilepsy patients.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Epileptology
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- Stereotaxic depth recordings in epilepsy patients provide insights into brain function.
- Understanding the link between epileptic discharges and cognitive/emotional changes is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between epileptic discharges and alterations in higher mental functions, behavior, and emotions.
- To elucidate the role of limbic structures in complex partial seizures and associated phenomena.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative analysis of 213 complex partial seizures from 29 drug-resistant epilepsy patients.
- Stereotaxic depth recordings and observation of patients with limbic system perturbations.
Main Results:
- A strong correlation was found between ictal signs and chronotopographical seizure patterns.
- Mesiobasal limbic structures (amygdala, hippocampus) and their connections are central to seizure propagation.
- Seizures traced to these limbic areas.
Conclusions:
- Epileptic discharges in limbic structures correlate with ictal mental state and emotional sphere alterations.
- Prolonged behavioral and personality changes in patients with bitemporal basal spike foci may result from limbic seizure discharges or a "limbic dyscontrol syndrome".