Am J Psychiatry 1984; 141:651-656
Copyright © 1984 by American Psychiatric Association
Varieties of aggressive behavior in temporal lobe epilepsy
O Devinsky and D Bear
While an increase in aggression has frequently been reported in association
with temporal lobe epilepsy, the validity of this behavioral observation
and the relationship of specific aggressive behavior to electrophysiologic
abnormality in the human limbic system remain unclear. Case reports of five
patients document the clinical importance of aggressive behavior,
especially during the interictal period, in patients with temporal lobe
epilepsy. Aggressiveness was often encountered together with other deepened
emotions and changes in behavior previously described as an interictal
behavior syndrome. Variations among the individual patients may clarify the
neuroanatomical mechanisms leading to aggression and suggest specific
therapeutic interventions.
