Research article summary (published 29 Jul 2006):

Cognition-induced epilepsy associated with specific emotional precipitants.

Full Abstract

A 32-year-old woman with primary generalized epilepsy described absence events precipitated by talking about childhood sexual abuse, her epilepsy, or her father's difficulties with schizophrenia. She was referred for assessment of suspected psychogenic nonepileptic events. During simultaneous video/EEG monitoring, 30 absence seizures were recorded, 28 of which occurred while discussing one of these three specific precipitants. No nonepileptic events were seen. This finding highlights the importance of thorough investigation of ambiguous events, and confirms that specific emotional precipitants can induce seizures in susceptible people with epilepsy.

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Author information

Author/s: Woods, Rebekah J (RJ); Gruenthal, Michael (M);

Affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Case Reports; Journal Article

Journal: Epilepsy & behavior : E&B (Epilepsy Behav), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Sep; vol 9 (issue 2) : pp 360-2

Dates: Created 2006/09/04; Completed 2006/10/18;

PMID: 16877046, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult Electroencephalography Emotions Epilepsy, Absence - diagnosis Epilepsy, Generalized - psychology Female

Female Humans Precipitating Factors Seizures - psychology Stress, Psychological - complications Video Recording

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