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Gyimesi J. Epilepsy, violence, and crime. A historical analysis. JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES 2022; 58:42-58. [PMID: 34289120 DOI: 10.1002/jhbs.22117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In the 19th and early 20th century, epilepsy was one of the most investigated disorders in forensic psychiatry and psychology. The possible subsidiary symptoms of epilepsy (such as temporal confusion, alterations of consciousness, or increased aggression) played pivotal roles in early forensic and criminal psychological theories that aimed to underscore the problematic medical, social and legal status of epileptic criminals. These criminals were considered extremely violent and capable of committing sudden, brutal acts. Although the theory of "epileptic criminality" was refuted due to 20th-century developments in medicine, forensic psychiatry, and criminal psychology, some suppositions related to the concept of epileptic personality have lingered. This paper explores the lasting influence of the theory of epileptic personality by examining the evolution of the theories of epileptic criminality both in the international and the Hungarian context. Specifically, it calls attention to the twentieth-century revival of the theory of epileptic personality in the works of Leopold Szondi, István Benedek and Norman Geschwind. The paper shows that the issue of epileptic personality still lingers in neuropsychology. In doing so, biological reductionist trends in medical-psychological thinking are traced, and attention is drawn to questions that arise due to changing cultural and medical representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Júlia Gyimesi
- Department of Personality and Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary
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2
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Veronelli L, Makaretz SJ, Quimby M, Dickerson BC, Collins JA. Geschwind Syndrome in frontotemporal lobar degeneration: Neuroanatomical and neuropsychological features over 9 years. Cortex 2017; 94:27-38. [PMID: 28711815 PMCID: PMC5565695 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Revised: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 06/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Geschwind Syndrome, a characteristic behavioral syndrome frequently described in patients affected by temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), consists of the following features: hyper-religiosity, hypergraphia, hyposexuality, and irritability. Here we report the 9-year-clinical course of a case of Geschwind Syndrome that developed as a first and salient clinical expression of right temporal lobe variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Only one patient affected by frontotemporal dementia has previously been shown to present with Geschwind Syndrome. MS presented at age 73 with 3 years of personality and behavioral symptoms. Her early symptoms primarily included hyper-religiosity, hypergraphia, and poor emotional regulation (irritability, impulsivity, disinhibition, egocentric behavior). Over nine years, other cognitive functions (word retrieval, memory coding and recall, set-shifting, famous face and building recognition) became affected; however, hyper-religiosity, hypergraphia, and scarce emotional control remained her most prominent deficits. Longitudinal cortical thickness and volumetric analyses revealed early atrophy in the right temporal pole, right amygdala, and right hippocampus, which progressively affected homologous regions in the left hemisphere. The present case describes an unusual clinical picture associated with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), in which the most salient symptoms originated and remained consistent with Geschwind Syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Veronelli
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Neurorehabilitation Sciences, Casa di Cura Del Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Sara J Makaretz
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Megan Quimby
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bradford C Dickerson
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jessica A Collins
- Frontotemporal Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Rektor I, Schachter SC, Arya R, Arzy S, Braakman H, Brodie MJ, Brugger P, Chang BS, Guekht A, Hermann B, Hesdorffer DC, Jones-Gotman M, Kanner AM, Garcia-Larrea L, Mareš P, Mula M, Neufeld M, Risse GL, Ryvlin P, Seeck M, Tomson T, Korczyn AD. Third International Congress on Epilepsy, Brain, and Mind: Part 2. Epilepsy Behav 2015; 50:138-59. [PMID: 26264466 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2015.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2015] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Epilepsy is both a disease of the brain and the mind. Here, we present the second of two papers with extended summaries of selected presentations of the Third International Congress on Epilepsy, Brain and Mind (April 3-5, 2014; Brno, Czech Republic). Humanistic, biologic, and therapeutic aspects of epilepsy, particularly those related to the mind, were discussed. The extended summaries provide current overviews of epilepsy, cognitive impairment, and treatment, including brain functional connectivity and functional organization; juvenile myoclonic epilepsy; cognitive problems in newly diagnosed epilepsy; SUDEP including studies on prevention and involvement of the serotoninergic system; aggression and antiepileptic drugs; body, mind, and brain, including pain, orientation, the "self-location", Gourmand syndrome, and obesity; euphoria, obsessions, and compulsions; and circumstantiality and psychiatric comorbidities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Rektor
- Masaryk University, Brno Epilepsy Center, St. Anne's Hospital and School of Medicine and Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Steven C Schachter
- Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation and Technology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Ravindra Arya
- Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Shahar Arzy
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel; The Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Hilde Braakman
- Academic Center for Epileptology, Kempenhaeghe & Maastricht UMC, Sterkselseweg 65, 5591 VE Heeze, The Netherlands
| | | | - Peter Brugger
- Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Bernard S Chang
- Departments of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alla Guekht
- Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow Research and Clinical Center for Neuropsychiatry, Moscow, Russia
| | - Bruce Hermann
- Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Dale C Hesdorffer
- Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, NY, USA
| | - Marilyn Jones-Gotman
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Andres M Kanner
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Luis Garcia-Larrea
- NeuroPain Lab, Centre for Neuroscience of Lyon, Inserm U1028, Hôpital Neurologique, 59Bd Pinel 69003 Lyon, France
| | - Pavel Mareš
- Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Marco Mula
- Epilepsy Group, Atkinson Morley Regional Neuroscience Centre, St George's Hospital & Institute of Medical and Biomedical Sciences, St George's University of London, London, UK
| | - Miri Neufeld
- EEG and Epilepsy Unit, Department of Neurology, Tel-Aviv Medical Center, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | | | - Philippe Ryvlin
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland; TIGER, Lyon's Neuroscience Research Center, INSERM U1028, CNRS5292 Lyon, France
| | - Margitta Seeck
- Neurology Service, Hòpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Genève, Switzerland
| | - Torbjörn Tomson
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Amos D Korczyn
- Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Israel
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Trevisol-Bittencourt PC, Troiano AR. [Interictal personality syndrome in non-dominant temporal lobe epilepsy: case report]. ARQUIVOS DE NEURO-PSIQUIATRIA 2000; 58:548-55. [PMID: 10920421 DOI: 10.1590/s0004-282x2000000300024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The syndrome of interictal personality in non-dominant temporal lobe epilepsy consists of hyposexuality, hyperreligiosity, humorlessness and hypergraphia. Its notification, in 1974, was followed by an extensive search for these traits in broad epileptic populations. Nevertheless, these statistical studies failed to match this syndrome in general temporal lobe epileptics, and its existence became then target of doubt. We report the case of a 35 year-old man presenting partial complex epilepsy, whose singularity lies in his sophisticated drawing abilities. The large amount of buildings and houses he paints expresses his hypergraphia. He also presents hyposexuality and hyperreligiosity. MRI shows right mesial temporal sclerosis. Temporal hyperconnection, caused by a basal temporal irritative focus, is the most probable pathophysiological mechanism. Epileptic fits can be controlled in the majority of cases. However, behavioural symptoms usually do not respond to pharmacological approach or psychotherapy.
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Abstract
In the Bible, St. Paul (Saul of Tarsus) was struck blind by a light from heaven. Three days later his vision was restored by a "laying on of hands." The circumstances surrounding his blindness represent an important episode in the history of religion. Numerous theories have been proposed to account for this event which has been the subject of interest of theologians, philosophers, artists, and physicians. A lightning strike could explain all of the features of this episode. The proposal of a theory which correlates St. Paul's symptoms with contemporary scientific knowledge makes his recovery of vision and conversion no less miraculous or religiously significant since the theory demonstrates that, indeed, the event may have occurred exactly as stated in the Bible.
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Affiliation(s)
- J D Bullock
- Department of Ophthalmology, Wright State University, School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio
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Okamura T, Fukai M, Yamadori A, Hidari M, Asaba H, Sakai T. A clinical study of hypergraphia in epilepsy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1993; 56:556-9. [PMID: 8505651 PMCID: PMC1015019 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.56.5.556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Fifteen patients with epilepsy and hypergraphia were compared with 32 patients with epilepsy but without hypergraphia. The number of previous psychiatric episodes, the number of Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (WPSI) items indicating emotional maladjustment, and the number of CT scan abnormalities were significantly greater in the hypergraphic patients than in the non-hypergraphic patients. Cognitive performance, EEG laterality and the scores of WPSI items related to the psychological stress of seizures did not differ significantly between the two groups. Hypergraphia reflects changes in emotional responsiveness secondary to organic temporal lobe lesions.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Okamura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Osaka Medical College, Japan
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Ash LR. Angiostrongylus cantonensis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1992; 55:861. [PMID: 1285777 PMCID: PMC1015125 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.55.9.861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Imamura T, Tsuburaya K, Yamadori A. MATTERS ARISING: Imamura et al reply:. J Neurol Psychiatry 1992. [DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.55.9.861-c] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Carvalho M, Alves M, Luis ML. Octreotide--a new treatment for diarrhoea in familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1992; 55:860-1. [PMID: 1402988 PMCID: PMC1015124 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.55.9.860-a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Purohit AK, Dinakar I, Sundaram C, Ratnakar KS. MATTERS ARISING: Dr Purohit et al reply:. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 1992. [DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.55.9.861-a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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12
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Jancar J, Cooke LB. Hypergraphia associated with a brain tumour of the right cerebral hemisphere. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1992; 55:861. [PMID: 1402989 PMCID: PMC1015127 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.55.9.861-b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
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Spiers PA, Schomer DL, Blume HW, Hochanadel GS. Behavioral Alterations in Temporolimbic Epilepsy. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1992. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4899-2350-9_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
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Hermann BP, Whitman S, Wyler AR, Richey ET, Dell J. The neurological, psychosocial and demographic correlates of hypergraphia in patients with epilepsy. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1988; 51:203-8. [PMID: 3126268 PMCID: PMC1031531 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.51.2.203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
The multiaetiological determinants and correlates of interictal hypergraphia in patients with epilepsy were studied. A variety of neurological, psychosocial and demographic variables were examined in order to determine their relationship to experimental and clinically derived measures of hypergraphia in a sample of 50 patients with epilepsy. The results indicate that hypergraphia is of multifactorial origin in general, with especially strong relationships with measures of psychopathology. These results are related to the larger literature concerned with interictal behavioural change in patients with epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- B P Hermann
- Regional Epilepsy Center, Baptist Memorial Hospital, Memphis, TN 38146
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16
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Abstract
Stories were elicited from 29 epileptic patients with generalized, simple partial, and complex partial seizures with bilateral, right, or left foci, and from 32 persons in two control groups. Four older epileptic patients with long histories of left complex partial seizures were verbose. Their stories involved trivial and subjective details, consistent with circumstantiality and suggesting the substrate for a hallucinatory syndrome.
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Bellur S, Camacho A, Hermann B, Kempthorne WJ, McCanne T. Autonomic responsiveness to affective visual stimulation in temporal lobe epilepsy. Biol Psychiatry 1985; 20:73-8. [PMID: 3965038 DOI: 10.1016/0006-3223(85)90137-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have been posited by some to manifest a syndrome of interictal personality and behavioral change. Furthermore, this syndrome has been attributed to an underlying mechanism--enhanced affective responsiveness. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether patients with TLE manifest increased emotional responsiveness relative to appropriate controls. Patients with TLE (n = 23) were compared with non-TLE (n = 7) and healthy controls (n = 16) as to their autonomic nervous system responsiveness to an emotionally stressing film. No differences were found among the groups. These results are related to the larger literature concerning epilepsy and psychopathology.
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