[Research] The Correlation between Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and Dissociative Identity Disorder

[petero]

can someone just bump me this thread by replying so I can get a link emailed to me?

 

[PFunk]

Here yah go Pete

 

[girlwithadog]

I was diagnosed with DID about 12 years ago. Still to this day some psych doctors insist I have DID.

An EEG was ran last month though, as a result of my drop and grand mal seizures and it was confirmed that I have epilepsy.

So now the question remains, do I in fact have DID or is it epileptic related? My psych doc still believes it's DID but we have the proof of epilepsy so time will tell I guess. Thank you for this article. I was googling the relationship between epilepsy and DID and it brought me here, I'm already a user on the forum so didn't even have to sign up to respond

 

[girlwithadog]

Looks like I already posted on this lol strange

So I am naturally curious between the two since they seem to represent themselves the same. I'm new to the epilepsy and learning about the brain so sorry for my ignorance but could someone explain what the link is discussing? I've always been told that if you have epilepsy it is impossible to have DID but when I talked to my psych after the e diagnosis he still insists I have DID as well and I'd rather not waste time on DID if I don't have it, not to mention the stress it causes to try and do the dissociative therapy. So basically, what does the study discuss and the findings? Maybe I'm just having an off day, actually I know I am, I'm having trouble understanding things today, surprisingly it happens a lot even though I understand things so easily typically (high IQ but doesn't do me much good lol) but days like today it's hard to understand anything

 

[Nakamova]

I think the upshot of the study is that... more research is needed. Below is a relevant section. I've highlighted some parts...

The involvement of the temporal lobes in DID is not surprising, in light of connections between the temporal lobe and the limbic system. The latter includes the amygdale, which is involved in the processing of emotional responses and in particular fear, and the hippocampus, which is vital to memory storage. In theory, the patient was able to induce dissociative states seemingly at will, presumably by increased volitional inputs involving neurons in other cortical areas-the temporal lobe has heightened sensitivity to electrical stimulation from other neurons—and when emerging from a dissociative state did appear confused and disoriented.

One possible interpretation of these observations would be that the dissociative condition was in fact a form of temporal lobe seizure. This is of interest in that the temporal lobe is more prone to seizure activity than any other lobe of the cortex. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy may exhibit traits that define the Geschwind syndrome): Hypergraphia, emotional volatility, altered sexuality (usually decreased), over-inclusiveness, and extreme talkativeness related to excessive attention to detail. The patient in both her baseline and altered states exhibited all of these traits; her hypergraphia was especially noteworthy wherein she produced numerous letters by her dominant self and purportedly by her “alter” enactments. In addition, temporal lobe seizures are notable for producing states of altered consciousness, including those in which the sense of personal identity may disappear and a person may experience “out of body” experiences as well as free-floating feelings of doom or ecstasy. Indeed, behaviors that give the verisimilitude of personality change can be evoked in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy. We do not claim that the patient in our study evinced temporal lobe seizures; but her ostensive changes of identity did have aspects that seemed “seizure-like;” indeed, behaviors that give the verisimilitude of personality change can be evoked in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy. This suggests as a possible avenue of intervention the use of medication (that has not been tried hitherto) such as Trileptal, which is useful in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy.

 

[mikepen0287]

that link with the simple partials kinda sounds familiar to me. interesting that d.i.d. can me attributed to seizures.

 

[kirsten]

I have a psychiatrist who specialises in TLE and helps me with the psychological side of my epilepsy. She initially diagnosed me bipolar but has now decided that my mood swings are purely a symptom of my TLE. I have experienced the full range of Geschwind's syndrome. Thankfully, as a writer, it helped me to put together my first book. Unfortunately, when treated, the hypergraphia went away and I struggle to write anything I'm not paid to write. Having said that, Geschwind's has long since been disproved through studies, based on the fact that there are just far too many TLE patients who do not present all the symptoms and far too many people without TLE who display some of them. In the last few days my seizures have returned and I'm back to the hypergraphia, which is probably most noticeable here, where I have been responding all over the forum, even to dead threads like this one.

As for DID, I suffer from a milder form--simple garden variety disassociation. I do not look like a different person when it happens. I just feel completely detached from the world around me and myself. Sometimes there seems to be a reason. If I am talking about something that upsets me drastically, it will happen but there are also plenty of occasions where there seems not to be a reason at all. I stay conscious, which can be baffling in that the only seizures I have where I don't lose consciousness are the myoclonics/clonics.

 

[Bernard]

... I'm back to the hypergraphia, which is probably most noticeable here, where I have been responding all over the forum, even to dead threads like this one.
...

There are very few dead (closed) threads. Most just sleep patiently waiting for renewed interest in the topic.

 

[kirsten]

Thanks Bernard. In some forums, people get quite upset about 'necroposting.'

 

[stilldancing_98]

This thread Is not dead by any matter. Wow! I have needed a counselor just to take care of my szrs. My life is crazy. I am having seizures where they took out the lobe. I have asked for counseling "oh, that will take forever". Well I got as long as I got to live. And I have a lot to learn. I feel like quitting all these appointments. Between me and my son, my son comes first. But now I got to take care of myself to. Love you all so much

 

[kirsten]

They took out your entire lobe? Wow.

 

[Penny]

I was diagnosed with manic/ depression (bipolar 1) in 2000 and PTSD. I am on Disability for both. I had my stroke 2 years ago in 2012 which caused the scar on my right temporal lobe and the simple partials started right away (the complez partials not for another 7 months. My psych and therapist decided I had desociative disorder (not DID). Which I actually had experienced with the PTSD before but was now a part of the aura. I just didn't know what was happening at that time. Now I just need my psych dr. to just get it together and start talking to my neuro so they can work out my meds together. I think his ego is threatened. Cant go to another dr though as I am on medicare and Medicaid.

 

[MMRocks]

So GRATEFUL for this thread. Thank you for it, thank you (closed account) for mentioning Geschwind's syndrome, that explains a lot.

I have a friend with DID, now I know I can talk to her about this, she may be having seizures.

 

[nichii]

I think the two are definitely related. When I have a seizure, one of my alters switches and I've heard temporal lobe epilepsy can cause changes in personality. It makes sense. TLE does not cause DID though, but people with DID can have TLE.