OBJECTIVE A systematic review was conducted to synthesize current anatomo-clinical correlations of ecstatic symptoms in focal epilepsy, aiming to provide evidence-based guidance for interpreting this ictal semiology during presurgical evaluation. METHODS We searched PubMed and Web of Science using terms related to ecstatic experience (e.g., ecstatic, bliss, mystical, time dilation) combined...
Abstract Purpose Despite the presence of mystical-type experiences in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT), an understanding of the cognitive processes involved is still lacking. Guided by theory and empirical research, we hypothesized a cognitive-grounded perspective based on current metacognition models to promote the understanding of the psychological processes involved in mystical-type...
Ecstatic epilepsy is a rare form of focal epilepsy linked to the anterior insula in which patients experience a blissful state with a unique set of symptoms, including a feeling of physical well-being, mental clarity, a sense of oneness with the universe, and time dilation. In this chapter, we reflect on how these symptoms coincide with our current knowledge of the insula's functions and...
Abstract Ecstatic epilepsy is a rare form of focal epilepsy, so named because the seizures' first symptoms consist of an ecstatic/mystical experience, including feelings of increased self-awareness, mental clarity, and “unity with everything that exists,” accompanied by a sense of bliss and physical well-being. In this perspective article, we first describe the phenomenology of ecstatic...
For the first time, an ecstatic aura has been evoked through the electrical stimulation of the dorsal anterior insula during presurgical invasive intracerebral monitoring in a patient who did not suffer from an ecstatic form of epilepsy. This case provides more evidence that the anterior insula is the major generator of such a mystical-type experience even in individuals with no underlying...
Ecstatic epilepsy is a rare form of focal epilepsy in which the aura (beginning of the seizures) consists of a blissful state of mental clarity/feeling of certainty. Such a state has also been described as a "religious" or mystical experience. While this form of epilepsy has long been recognized as a temporal lobe epilepsy, we have accumulated evidence converging toward the location of the...