Language-Induced Epilepsy

Geschwind, Norman; Sherwin, Ira

doi:10.1001/archneur.1967.00470190029003

Cited by 77 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…From the point of view of two‐dimension hypothesis, reflex epilepsies may overlap or interrelate with each other. Geschwind and Sherwin (6) described a case of language‐induced epilepsy, in which seizures were precipitated by three language functions: speaking, writing, and reading. These led us speculate that reading triggers seizure activity in our patients with epilepsy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Cognitive–Motor Function in Precipitation and Inhibition of Epileptic Seizures

et al. 2005

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Summary:Purpose: To examine the effects of cognitive-motor function on EEG discharges and the neuropsychological mechanisms of seizure induction in patients sensitive to cognitivemotor tasks.Methods: Four hundred eighty patients with epilepsies were subjected to cognitive tasking, termed "neuropsychological EEG activation (NPA)." It consisted of reading, speaking, writing, written calculation, mental calculation, and spatial construction. Furthermore, patients showing a provocative NPA effect were subjected to a detailed NPA protocol to identify the possible precipitating factors, which consisted of simple hand movements, action programming requiring hand movement, and thinking activity not requiring hand movement.Results: NPA had an inhibitory effect on EEG discharges in 133 (63.9%) of 208 patients with discharges in the awake EEG. Conversely, NAP had a provocative effect in 38 (7.9%) of 480 patients. In 32 of the 38 patients, the precipitating factor was action programming. Among them, five showed a precipitating factor restricted to linguistic activity, and the remaining 27 were affected by various action-programming factors including both linguistic and praxic activities. In four of 38 patients, the precipitating factor was thinking, predominantly linguistic tasks in one patient and spatial tasks in three patients. No patient had a precipitating factor identified as motor activity.Conclusions: These results suggest that cognitive-motor function has an inhibitory effect on EEG discharges in the majority of epilepsy patients and a provocative effect in some patients, and that seizures of the patients showing a provocative NPA effect are precipitated by action programming or thinking activity. Key Words: Action programming-Juvenile myoclonic epilepsyNeuropsychological EEG activation-Reflex epilepsy.The impact of higher mental activities on each type of epilepsy or seizure remains unclear, because standard EEGs record changes during sleep, hyperventilation, photic stimulation, and opening and closing of the eyes, but not in systematic cognitive tasks. Reflex epilepsies induced by cognitive-motor activities such as reading, calculation, speaking, writing, and thinking have been described in the literature, but such triggers are considered to be uncommon. For example, standard EEG recordings at the Mayo Clinic in the United States included a mental arithmetic calculation task, and only one of >100,000 recordings showed an EEG effect (1). Conversely, various daily mental activities have been shown to facilitate or inhibit seizure occurrence in patients with epilepsy (2).This study was designed to examine how much cognitive-motor activities influence epileptic EEG disAddress correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. H. Matsuoka at Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8574, Japan. E-mail: mtok@psy.med.tohoku.ac.jp charges by using a special EEG activation protocol for testing various mental activities, which we called "neuropsychological EEG a...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Cognitive–Motor Function in Precipitation and Inhibition of Epileptic Seizures

et al. 2005

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“…Primary reading epilepsy also is classified among the idiopathic localization‐related epilepsies (16). According to Geschwind and Sherwin (17), other forms may involve seizure precipitation by speaking as well as by writing (17).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Familial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Aphasic Seizures and Linkage to Chromosome 10q22‐q24

Brodtkorb

Nakken

et al. 2002

Epilepsia

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Summary:Purpose: To describe the phenotypic expression of a new family with familial lateral temporal lobe epilepsy with aphasic seizures, and to compare the findings with the clinical features of previously reported families linked to chromosome 10q22-q24.Methods: Medical records were collected from 12 living affected members. The patients underwent a personal interview and a clinical neurologic examination. Results from interictal scalp EEGs and neuroimaging examinations were obtained.Results: The cardinal ictal symptom was a brief sensory aphasia in eight of the patients. In four, this was accompanied by auditory symptoms, usually in the form of monotonous unformed sounds. Simple partial seizures with psychic or somatosensory seizures also were present. Visual ictal symptoms and complex partial seizures were absent. All patients had generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computed tomography (CT) did not reveal morphologic correlates. Improvement with age seemed to occur in many patients. Significant linkage to chromosome 10q22-q24 was established by testing 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers.Conclusions: The epilepsy of this family appears to represent a variety of autosomal dominant lateral temporal lobe epilepsy. Aphasic seizures and a peculiar seizure-precipitating effect of the activation of speech (initiation or perception) may serve as markers for identifying further families with this phenotype.

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“…Several cases of epilepsy induced by reading, writing, or speaking have been reported. [3][4][5] Such cases not only give greater insights into the mechanisms of epilepsy, but also yield further understanding of the neurologic organization of this cognitive activity and its relationship to other functions.…”

Section: Figuring Out Drawing-induced Epilepsymentioning

confidence: 99%