Interictal Behavior Syndrome

Weber-Mihaila, Christine J.

doi:10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1046

Christine J. Weber-Mihaila⁵

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Synonyms

Geschwind syndrome (or Waxman–Geschwind Syndrome); Interictal personality syndrome; Temporal lobe syndrome

Definition

A distinct syndrome of behavior described initially by Stephen Waxman and Norman Geschwind that occurs interictally (i.e., between seizure events) in some patients with complex partial seizures with involvement of the temporal lobe (usually associated the most with individuals with left temporal lobe epilepsy). These changes have been described to include alterations in sexual behavior (usually hyposexuality or decreased interest in sexual behavior), increased religiosity (hyper-religiosity and/or hyper-morality), increased verbal output, hypergraphia, circumstantial thinking, stickiness or viscosity in thinking and social interactions, and deepened emotionality.

Current Knowledge

Although it is widely known that psychiatric comorbidity among individuals with epilepsy is high compared with the general population, the existence of a specific behavior syndrome...

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References and Readings

Bear, D. M., & Fedio, P. (1977). Quantitative analysis of interictal behavior in temporal lobe epilepsy. Archives of Neurology, 34, 454–467.
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Blumer, D. (1999). Evidence supporting the temporal lobe epilepsy personality syndrome. Neurology, 53(Suppl. 2), S9–S12.
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Devinsky, O., & Najjar, S. (1999). Evidence against the existence of a temporal lobe epilepsy personality syndrome. Neurology, 53(Suppl. 2), S13–S25.
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Waxman, S. G., & Geschwind, N. (1975). The interictal behavior syndrome of temporal lobe epilepsy. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32(12), 1580–1586.
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Authors and Affiliations

Neuropsychologist, Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group, 104 East 40th Street, Suite 607, 10016, New York, NY, USA
Christine J. Weber-Mihaila

Authors

Christine J. Weber-Mihaila
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Professor of Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry Virginia Commonwealth University – Medical Center Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, VCU, 980542, Richmond, Virginia, 23298-0542, USA
Jeffrey S. Kreutzer
Kessler Foundation Research Center, 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ, 07052, USA
John DeLuca
Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – New Jersey Medical School, New Jersey, USA
John DeLuca
Independent Practice, 564 M.O.B. East, 100 E. Lancaster Ave., Wynnewood, PA, 19096, USA
Bruce Caplan

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Weber-Mihaila, C.J. (2011). Interictal Behavior Syndrome. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1046

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1046
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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