[Motor and postural manifestations of temporal lobe epilepsy seizure]

This study reports on 73 epileptic seizures (in 36 patients) originating in the temporal lobe (stereo-EEG) presenting motor or postural signs. Motor symptoms occur rarely in the early phase of seizures (less than 10% of our series) and they are exceptional during spontaneous seizures. The critical electrical discharge always affects extra-temporal structures such as the rolandic operculum, the cingulate gyrus, etc. The occurrence of motor symptoms during the late phase of seizures is associated with a long duration of the critical discharge and, again, with the involvement of extra-temporal structures. The characteristics of the associated clinical signs (e.g., frequent loss of contact with the environment, relatively rare oroalimentary automatic activities), together with the high frequency of secondary 'generalizations' are consistent with the stereo-EEG findings and indicate that these seizures also affect extra-temporal regions.