Epilepsy related personality

[Dave111]

I was reading an article the other day about people with epilepsy possessing characteristic personality traits (it was mainly talking about temporal lobe epilepsy so I don't know if it applies to the other types - they were suggesting that oppressiveness, anxiety etc were related to the condition). I was wondering - do these personality traits tend to decline when the epilepsy is medicated?

[epileric]

Welcome Dave, I"d love to see the article you read. Was it online?

As far as I"m concerned, I"ve been medicated all my life & I still suffer from anxiety & depression. I don't consider myself oppressive but maybe you should ask some of my friends about that.

Also a lot of the medications side-effects are similar to the traits you mentioned.

[Bernard]

A diagnosis of Epilepsy can have a big (negative) impact on one's life - causing loss of legal driving priviliges, issues with insurance coverage, potential discrimination at work and in social circles, loss of independence in some cases, etc. It's not surprising that there is a high incidence of anxiety and depression amongst those with Epilepsy IMO.

[Loopy Lou]

I've pretty much always been an anxious person, but i'd say that its actually worse since i started on Lamictal, but i think it's all to do with what Bernard said

[RobinN]

I read something recently, that depression is connected and it was still unclear as to whether the depression was due to the seizures or if the seizures occurred more in depressed people.

Found it!

# There is a strong association between epilepsy and depression: more than one of every three persons with epilepsy will also be affected by depression, and people with a history of depression have a higher risk of developing epilepsy.

http://www.cureepilepsy.org/about/epilepsy_facts.asp

[Nakamova]

Neurological patterns can lead to behavioral/emotional habits, and vice versa, so it's a version of "the chicken or the egg" dilemma. (Or maybe the chicken or the "eeg" dilemma ) Temporal lobe epilepsy affects specific areas of the brain associated with strong emotional responses, especially those related to fear, anxiety and panic. So in that sense, some of the "characteristic personality traits" derive from the seizures themselves and might modulate under medication. On the other hand, the meds can affect personality unpredictably -- people can become moody or angry, or hyper, or sedated... As for me (tonic-clonics, but not temporal lobe epilepsy), I'm calm, easygoing, mellow, happy -- both before and after the epilepsy diagnosis. My personality changed for the worse on Zonegran (I became cranky and depressed), and not at all on the Lamictal (other than a certain perkiness when I first went on it).

[Dave111]

Here are some references:

Changes in depression, anxiety, anger, and personality after resective surgery for drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy: A 2-year follow-up study
Epilepsy Research, Volume 77, Issue 1, October 2007, Pages 22-30
G.N. Meldolesi, G. Di Gennaro, P.P. Quarato, V. Esposito, L.G. Grammaldo, P. Morosini, I. Cascavilla, A. Picardi

Long-term amygdala kindling in rats as a model for the study of interictal emotionality in temporal lobe epilepsy
Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, Volume 24, Issue 7, September 2000, Pages 691-704
L. E. Kalynchuk


Whilst there could be chicken and egg debates, I could see how having seizures would make you depressed and anxious (in general) but it appears suprising that it would lead to anxiety in a specific area (social anxiety).

[epileric]

Whilst there could be chicken and egg debates, I could see how having seizures would make you depressed and anxious (in general) but it appears suprising that it would lead to anxiety in a specific area (social anxiety).

Thanks for the references Dave, I haven't checked them out yet but to me it makes good sense that epilepsy would be associated to social anxiety. I know in myself quite often after a seizure (& occasionally when being put on new meds with bad side-effects) my perceptions & my emotions are not what they normally are. I know I"m more likely to have what I say misunderstood or am just different from who I normally am. Knowing that I might be like that, even if I feel normal can easily cause social anxiety.

[Cint]

Hi Dave,

Here is an article from a neuropsychiatrist who specializes in epilepsy and the co-existing mood disorders:

Evidence supporting the temporal lobe epilepsy personality syndrome.

Blumer D.

Department of Psychiatry, University of Tennessee Medical School, Memphis 38105, USA.

A deepening of emotionality with a serious, highly ethical, and spiritual demeanor has been described by clinicians as a positive personality change among patients with chronic mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. Some of these patients tend to be particularly orderly and detailed in their speech and actions (viscosity) and often experience a relative decrease in sexual interest and arousal. These personality changes, distinct from personality changes noted in any other individuals, are subtle in the majority of patients with chronic epilepsy. Patients with the described personality changes may also develop intermittent symptoms of an interictal dysphoric disorder, with episodes of irritable moods that contrast with a predominantly good-natured attitude and for which the patients will be remorseful. The Bear-Fedio Inventory needs to be further modified before it can serve as an adequate instrument for assessing the prevailing personality changes and the intermittent dysphoric symptoms.

[Bernard]

chronic mesial temporal lobe epilepsy

FYI - Human Herpesvirus-6B with Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

[vapour]

My Neurologist has told me i am textbook for temporal lobe epilepsy. Over the year as my seizures have become more frequent (leading to a diagnosis) I have become very obsessed with morality, religion and philosophy. I did not think anything of it at first.. until I read about temporal lobe epilepsy. I have also become very hypersexual after status epilepticus.....

Probably not everyone with temporal lobe epilepsy gets this way..... after speaking with a couple of Neuros at the brain storm summit last weekend, I have been told there might have been some damage done to the amygdala....I think that is right beside the temporal lobe. I guess I would have to have another MRI or cat scan to see if this is true... cannot afford that right now.

[KelVarQ]

Over the year as my seizures have become more frequent (leading to a diagnosis) I have become very obsessed with morality, religion and philosophy.

Wow, Vapour I'm in the same boat and I have RTL. I had no clue there was a connection until recently when I read something on here about it. When my seizures started getting worse (RTL) I was actually in college and low and behold I started taking all these religion and philosophy classes as electives. NO CLUE why since I was not raised with a strict religious background nor was I interested in philosophy! I also ended up reading the Bible cover to cover after RTL surgery. I just assumed that I had a curious mind and was intersted in things that there was no concrete answer for and actually enjoyed the whole mental stimulation of pondering so many different ideas. Then I read about the connection here and I was actually disturbed for quite a few weeks because I felt that it was all due to E that made me interested in all this and not because I really was. Something like that. I found that I could no longer even pray because I felt that it was the E that was making me look up! haha...no joke though. However, I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't make a difference whether it's the E or not and I've opted to continue to enjoy both topics. I admit I enjoy deep thinking. For me it's like feeding the apes in my brain and as long as I give them something to ponder about they're not off running wild.

[Meetz1064]

a pretty easy-going person, although I do have a little bit of anxiety at times, but I think we all do at some point. That's when I go for a long, 3.5 mile walk.....