Postictal psychosis: a comparison with acute interictal and chronic psychoses.
K Kanemoto, J Kawasaki, I Kawai
Epilepsia June 1996 DOI: 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1996.tb00608.x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Comparative clinical study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 88 |
| Population | Patients with epilepsy (complex partial seizures or EEG temporal epileptogenic foci) and psychosis: 30 with postictal psychosis, 33 with acute interictal psychosis, and 25 with chronic psychosis |
| Key points | Postictal psychosis was distinguished from acute interictal and chronic epileptic psychoses mainly by phenomenology: relatively frequent grandiose and religious delusions with markedly elevated mood and a feeling of mystic fusion of the body with the universe, and few schizophreniform traits such as perceptual delusions or commenting voices. Acute interictal and chronic epileptic psychoses were psychopathologically similar to each other and could simulate schizophrenia. |
Abstract
We studied 30 patients with postictal psychosis and compared them with 33 patients with acute interictal psychosis and 25 patients with chronic psychosis. All patients had either complex partial seizures (CPS) or EEG temporal epileptogenic foci. Patients with postictal psychosis had a high incidence of psychic auras and nocturnal secondarily generalized seizures. The most striking feature that distinguished postictal psychosis from both acute interictal and chronic psychoses was phenomenological: the relatively frequent occurrence of grandiose delusions as well as religious delusions in the setting of markedly elevated moods and feeling of mystic fusion of the body with the universe. In addition, postictal psychosis exhibited few schizophreniform psychotic traits such as perceptual delusions or voices commenting. Reminiscence, mental diplopia, and a feeling of impending death were also fairly frequent complaints of patients with postictal psychosis. Interictal acute psychosis and chronic epileptic psychosis were psychopathologically similar. Although acute interictal and chronic epileptic psychoses could simulate schizophrenia, postictal psychosis results in a mental state quite different from that of schizophrenic psychosis.
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- The neural substrates of religious experience The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences August 1, 1997
- Delusions, illusions and hallucinations in epilepsy: 2. Complex phenomena and psychosis. Epilepsy research August 2009
- Spirituality and religion in epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior May 1, 2008
- An investigation of religiosity and the Gastaut-Geschwind syndrome in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior November 2006
- Religious experiences in epileptic patients with a focus on ictus-related episodes. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences June 1, 1998