EVALUATION OF SCHIZOPHRENIA-LIKE PSYCHOSIS IN LEFT HEMISPHERIC TEMPORAL-LOBE EPILEPSY

Associations have been made between epilepsy and mental illness since ancient times. The discussion of the relationship between epilepsy and schizophrenia has invariably been a moot point. The concept of schizophrenia-like psychoses contrasts starkly with the results of the many studies rejecting any association between epilepsy and schizophrenia. Using a polydiagnostic approach we examined four patients with temporal lobe epilepsy who had developed psychotic symptoms (DSM III R, ICD 10, Leonhard Classification). None of the patients fulfilled ''strict'' criteria of schizophrenia. For this reason we proposed the term of ''acute transient psychotic disorder'' in psychotic patients with left hemispheric temporal lobe epilepsy. For the future, it would seem meaningful to examine ''schizophrenia-like psychoses'' in different subgroups of epilepsy.