Delinquency, psychomotor epileptic symptoms and paranoid ideation: a triad

In a retrospective chart-review study, the author found psychomotor epileptic symptoms in 6% (N=18) of children referred to a juvenile court over a 2-year period. Abnormalities appeared in 11 of the 14 available EEGs, but temporal lobe foci were noted in only 3 cases. Of these 18 children, 16 experienced paranoid symptoms that led to aggressive behavior. The incidence of offenses against persons was 50% in this sample, compared to 2--3% in the population of children referred to the juvenile court. The author suggests that psychomotor epilepsy may be far more common among delinquent children than has been reported previously and should therefore be included in the differential diagnosis of court-referred children.