Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
September 1, 2010
A E Cavanna, S Cavanna, A Cavanna
42 citations
Epileptic seizures in Haiti are often misattributed to Voodoo spirit possession due to cultural beliefs. In four Haitian patients whose seizures were initially thought to be spirit possession, the seizures involved experiential phenomena such as epigastric aura, fear, depersonalization, and derealization, followed by loss of consciousness. Electroclinical tests showed a temporal lobe focus in each case. The article reviews how such traditional belief systems can delay proper diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, highlighting the harmful impact of these misconceptions in developing countries.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
August 1, 2008
Mirja Johanson, Katja Valli, Antti Revonsuo et al.
19 citations
People with partial epilepsy experience widespread distortions in their subjective experience during seizures, yet the pattern of those distortions remains consistent from one seizure to the next. A standardized questionnaire called the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) proved suitable for capturing these changes in consciousness. The findings suggest that the PCI could help researchers and clinicians better understand the nature of phenomenal consciousness in epilepsy.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
June 1, 2024
Kheng-Seang Lim, Si-Lei Fong, Xuen Yu et al.
6 citations
A 20-minute guided mindful breathing exercise, practiced twice a week for two weeks, improved depression symptoms and quality of life in people with epilepsy. In a pilot randomized controlled trial with 20 participants, those who performed the exercise showed significantly greater improvement in depression scores at two weeks compared to a waitlist control group, though this difference was no longer significant at four weeks. Anxiety improvements were not statistically significant. Quality of life scores were significantly better in the intervention group at both two and four weeks, and mindfulness scores improved at four weeks. The exercise had an immediate effect on depression and quality of life.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
August 1, 2025
Qing Xue, Gregg H Rawlings, Steven C Schachter et al.
1 citation
Functional/dissociative seizures (FDS) involve a complex mix of symptoms spanning physical, emotional, autonomic, and cognitive domains, according to personal accounts from 75 authors with FDS. The most common symptom domain was consciousness, mentioned by 63 of 75 authors, particularly impaired awareness, self-control, and disconnection. Motor symptoms appeared in 58 narratives, including excessive, reduced, or mixed movements. Sensations such as pain were reported by 13 authors. Arousal symptoms, especially hyperarousal, appeared in 20 accounts. Emotional symptoms, particularly anxiety, were noted by 22 authors. Cognitive issues like foggy thinking and memory deficits were described in 14 writings. These detailed descriptions may aid earlier diagnosis.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
February 3, 2026
Kairui Li, Hui Song, Chenxiao Zhao et al.
A simplified, app-based mindfulness program for people with epilepsy in mainland China was feasible and well-accepted. Ten adults completed a 6-week self-guided program (15 minutes daily, 6 days per week) via a WeChat mini-program. Completion rates averaged 110.1%, and user feedback was positive. Exploratory assessments suggested improvements in quality of life (median increase of 9.12 points on the QOLIE-31) and reductions in anxiety (median decrease of 5.50 points on the GAD-7). Seizure frequency descriptively decreased by a median of 1.17 seizures per 4 weeks, with half of participants experiencing at least a 50% reduction. These findings support planning a future randomized controlled trial.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
January 22, 2026
Fredrik K Andersson, Bisrat Ezra, Kenney Roy Roodakker et al.
Seizure-related experiences with supernatural, religious, spiritual, mystical, or ecstatic features—termed 'numinous-like symptoms'—are not uncommon among epilepsy patients and those with insular tumors. In a survey of 200 epilepsy patients and 40 with resected insular tumors, 6.0% of epilepsy respondents and 8.7% of tumor respondents reported such symptoms. Interviews identified ecstatic seizures, out-of-body experiences, and sensed presence. Three sensed-presence patients had seizure origin in the right hemisphere. These phenomena are often underreported due to patient reluctance, but actively assessing them aids seizure evaluation and differential diagnosis. Neuroscientifically, ecstatic seizures and out-of-body experiences involve distinct nodes in self-processing networks, while sensed presence requires further analysis.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
March 1, 2025
Meiying Zhang, Liting Zheng, Jixing Chen et al.
Depression-like behavior in a mouse model of epilepsy does not appear immediately after a seizure but develops within one week and persists for over two weeks. This corresponds with a significant drop in hippocampal LRP4 expression one day after status epilepticus, which partially recovers but remains low through day 14. Treatment with (2R, 6R)-hydroxynorketamine ((2R, 6R)-HNK), a ketamine metabolite, alleviates depressive-like behaviors within one day and continues for up to seven days, while reducing LRP4 expression in hippocampal astrocytes initially and then increasing it within a week. Overexpressing LRP4 in hippocampal astrocytes accelerated the onset of depressive-like behaviors and blocked the antidepressant effects of (2R, 6R)-HNK, suggesting that (2R, 6R)-HNK alleviates postictal depression through stage-specific modulation of LRP4 in astrocytes.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
December 1, 2024
Daniel D Cummins, Zac Schulman, Christina Maher et al.
During mindfulness meditation compared with mind-wandering, gamma power (30-55 Hz) in the mesial temporal lobe (MTL) significantly decreased in non-epileptic brain tissue but not in epileptic tissue. No significant power changes occurred in epileptic MTL across any frequency band, but aperiodic components (offset, knee, exponent) differed significantly between the two states in epileptic MTL, while no such aperiodic changes appeared in non-epileptic MTL. These intracranial electrophysiological modulations suggest that gamma activity changes in non-epileptic MTL may reflect functional brain state shifts, whereas aperiodic changes in epileptic MTL may relate to seizure propensity.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
July 1, 2012
R Edward Hogan, Edward A English
John Hughlings-Jackson, from epilepsy studies, proposed a brain model with levels of consciousness, a hierarchy of nervous centers, and a sensory-motor relationship. His ideas influenced Wilder Penfield, who used electrical stimulation to map the cerebral cortex in epilepsy patients. Penfield observed a "record of the stream of consciousness," akin to Hughlings-Jackson's "subject consciousness." Penfield suggested that while higher and lower centers explained reflex movements, another force controlled voluntary movements, which he termed the "computer" (automatic sensory-motor mechanism) and the "mind's mechanism" (highest brain mechanism). Their ideas form a continuum about epilepsy and brain function, remaining relevant to memory and the mind-brain relationship.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
March 1, 2012
Robert Hoepner, Kirsten Labudda, Matthias Hoppe et al.
Positive autoscopic phenomena such as autoscopy, heautoscopy, and out-of-body experiences occur in various diseases and in healthy individuals but are underreported in focal epilepsies. In a group of 14 patients with ictal lateralized autoscopic phenomena, 12 (85.7%) had an epileptic focus on the opposite side of the brain from where the autoscopic image appeared. This suggests that when a person with epilepsy sees a double or an image of themselves to one side during a seizure, the seizure focus is likely in the opposite brain hemisphere.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
March 1, 2011
Lukas Heydrich, Christophe Lopez, Margitta Seeck et al.
A 10-year-old patient with right temporoparietal epilepsy experienced both a partial own-body illusion (somatoparaphrenia) and a full own-body illusion (out-of-body experience) sequentially during a single epileptic seizure. This is the first documented case of out-of-body experiences in a child with focal epilepsy. The co-occurrence suggests that partial and full own-body illusions share functional and neuroanatomical properties, highlighting the right temporoparietal junction's role in bodily self-consciousness.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
February 1, 2010
Christophe Lopez, Lukas Heydrich, Margitta Seeck et al.
A 33-year-old man with a right frontal lobe oligodendroglioma experienced complex partial seizures involving a feeling of being projected outside his body, dissociation of mind and self from body (disembodiment), and vestibular vertigo. The case distinguishes these ictal symptoms from autoscopic phenomena such as out-of-body experiences, heautoscopy, and autoscopic hallucinations, and from vestibular phenomena of epileptic origin. The neural origins are discussed in relation to vestibular and multisensory cortical mechanisms of bodily self-consciousness in the temporoparietal and frontal cortex.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
June 1, 2009
Christian Brandt, Corinna Kramme, Hermann Storm et al.
A 48-year-old man experienced repeated episodes combining out-of-body experiences, visual hallucinations, and auditory hallucinations. These events were ultimately diagnosed as cardiogenic syncope after a subcutaneous event recorder was implanted. The symptoms stopped completely after a cardiac pacemaker was implanted. The report emphasizes that the event recorder was essential for making the correct diagnosis and that the cessation of symptoms after pacemaker implantation confirmed it.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
May 1, 2008
Orrin Devinsky, George Lai
Epilepsy, especially temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), is associated with religious experiences that can occur during seizures (ictal), after them (postictal), or between them (interictal). Surveys report that 0.4% to 3.1% of partial epilepsy patients have ictal religious experiences, with higher rates in systematic questionnaires than spontaneous reports. Religious auras are reported by 3.9% of epilepsy patients. Ictal religious experiences are more common in right TLE, while postictal and interictal experiences are more frequent in bilateral TLE. Postictal religious experiences occur in 1.3% of all epilepsy patients and 2.2% of TLE patients. The limbic system and temporal neocortex are implicated, with frontal regions possibly contributing to increased religious interests as a personality trait.
Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
November 1, 2006
Ephraim Philip Lansky, Erik K St Louis
Transcendental Meditation (TM), derived from ancient yogic teachings, has been associated with EEG changes including increased alpha, theta, and gamma frequencies and enhanced coherence and synchrony. Because neuronal hypersynchrony is a hallmark of epilepsy, and both epileptic seizures and meditative states can involve subjective psychic symptoms, apnea, and myoclonic jerking, clinical vignettes suggest a potential risk of kindling from repetitive TM practice. Conversely, studies of similar techniques indicate meditation may also serve as an antiepileptic therapy. Future video/EEG monitoring and prospective trials in epilepsy patients are needed to clarify safety and efficacy for seizure reduction and quality of life.