Abstract
We identified two patients with medically refractory temporal lobe epilepsy, from
whom intracranial EEG recordings were obtained at the time of postictal psychosis.
Both patients had mesial temporal epilepsy associated with hippocampal sclerosis.
In both patients, the postictal psychosis was associated with a continual “epileptiform”
EEG pattern that differed from their interictal and ictal EEG findings (rhythmical
slow wave and “abortive” spike-slow wave complex activity in the right hippocampus
and lateral temporal cortex in case 1 and a periodic pattern of triphasic waves in
the contacts recording activity from the left anterior cingulate gyrus). Some cases
of postictal psychosis might be caused by the transient impairment of several limbic
system structures due to the “continual epileptiform discharge” in some brain regions.
Case 2 is the first report of a patient with TLE in whom psychotic symptoms were associated
with the epileptiform impairment of the anterior cingulate gyrus.
Highlights
- We present two patients with postictal psychosis during invasive EEG.
- Both patients had mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.
- Psychotic symptoms were associated with a continual epileptiform EEG pattern.
- In one case, the epileptiform impairment of the anterior cingulate was present.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
February 5,
2012
Received in revised form:
February 4,
2012
Received:
January 4,
2012
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
