[Paroxystic auto-prosopagnosia and epilepsy. Physio-pathological correlation or chance association?]

A case of isolated, pure and paroxystic auto-prosopagnosia in a young man aged 19 years and 10 months, followed until age 21 years and 6 months, is described. He also exhibited petit-mal seizures since the age of 18 years, these two pathological manifestations being chronologically independent. Clinically, were noted a total absence of hetero-prosopagnosia, color-agnosing agnosia for objects or body scheme disorders. The ophtalmologic examination was totally normal. The psychologie study was performed with the aid of the psychodiagnostic tests of Rorschach, Fuchs, Kataguchi and with the "Symbol-Test" of Roemer, and the result obtained, as well as their psychodynamic meanings are detailed. Disappearance, at the age of 21 years and 6 months, of the auto-prosopagnosia and rarefaction of the petit-mal seizures. In a brief survey of the literature, the author underlines the indisputable scarcity of the isolated and paroxystic forms of auto-prosopagnosia as well as their association with epilepsy.