1994 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 16-22
We compared twenty-two patients with acute periictal psychosis (P-group) andtwenty-five patients with acute interictal psychosis (I-group) selected from sixhundreds and six epileptics with complex partial seizures or temporal EEG foci.
The average age at onset of psychotic episodes in P-group (32.1±9.6) wassignificantly older than that in I-group (26.6±7.8). Anxiety aura and dysmnesticseizures were reported significantly more often in P-group than in G-group (x2=4.85, p<0.05). Unilateral sensori-motor seizures tended to be also more intimately associat-ed with P-group. Together with relative predominance of additional frontal EEG-foci, we interpreted this tendency as an evidence of more wide-spread cortical involvementin the P-group.
Psychopathological characteristics of both groups showed marked difference. Inperiictal psychosis, the commonest pattern of psychopathological findings were rela-tive paucity of primary delusion in contrast with predominance of abnormal moods.This trend was reversed in interictal psychosis. This difference between two groupswas statistically confirmed (p <0.005). In addition, religiosity and sexual disinhibitionwere also psychopathological features of periictal psychosis.
