Is dystonic posturing during temporal lobe epileptic seizures the expression of an endogenous anticonvulsant system?

Do the basal ganglia inhibit seizure activity in temporal lobe epilepsy?

“…Ictal dystonia, which has been associated with the BG, is a late ictal sign in TLE [24]. The occurrences of dystonia and seizure generalization were negatively correlated, suggesting that dystonia is a marker of the activation of an endogenous anticonvulsant system [46].…”

The neurobiological substrates of behavioral manifestations during temporal lobe seizures: A neuroethological and ictal SPECT correlation study

“…Or are these hyperperfused cerebral areas a part of an endogenous antagonism inhibition system? In line with these thoughts, a recent neuroethological study in patients with TLE [25] verified that dystonia without secondary generalization was approximately two times more frequent than dystonia with secondary generalization. These results suggest that dystonic posturing, generated by basal ganglia activation, could be a behavioral marker of an antagonistic activation against secondary generalization.…”

“…Interestingly, in the RTLE group, whose seizures commonly evolve into secondarily generalized seizures, there was a remarkable association between ipsilateral basal ganglia hyperperfusion and the lack of contralateral cephalic version, a behavior that generally precedes secondary generalization. On the basis of neuroethology data for humans and knowledge of basal ganglia involvement in the blockade of convulsive seizures in animal models, our group [25] previously described a significant negative correlation between contralateral dystonia and secondary generalization (bilateral tonic or clonic behaviors) in patients with TLE. This finding suggests that dystonia and underlying basal ganglia activation could represent an attempt of the brain to block imminent secondary generalization.…”

Looking for complexity in quantitative semiology of frontal and temporal lobe seizures using neuroethology and graph theory

“…Dystonic posturing is one among various ictal behaviors that usually occurs during TLE seizures as a reliable contralateral sign [23,[43][44][45]. Our group previously described a significant negative correlation between contralateral dystonia and secondary generalization (bilateral tonic or clonic behaviors) in patients with TLE [46].…”