Place Your Advertisement Here
 
UPDATED: Sun, 10/21/2007 - 9:35pm

  • Epilepsy First Aid
  • Seizure Medication
  • Videos
  • Seizure Diary
  • Find a Doctor
  • Epilepsy Centers
  • Clinical Trials
  • Event Calendar

Place Your Advertisement Here

Aggression

Because it may involve changes in behavior, epilepsy has traditionally straddled the divide between psychiatry and neurology. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates suggested that seizure disorders had a neurological basis, but it took nearly 2500 years for medical explanations to be generally accepted. In recent centuries, epilepsy has been mistakenly thought to represent a form of insanity and patients were often thought to be dangerous. Epilepsy (especially complex partial seizures) frequently has been associated with aggressive behavior in the minds of people in general and even in the medical literature.

It is now believed that most people with epilepsy are no more likely than others to act aggressively. A few do have episodes of aggressive behavior between seizures (interictal aggression). Researchers have proposed that there are syndromes of interictal behavior changes that can occur in people with epilepsy. The idea of such "interictal behavior disorders" remains a controversial subject, but certain behaviors have been recognized as part of the interictal behavior profile in many cases. Some suggest that aggression should be part of this behavioral profile.

Linking epilepsy with aggression has contributed to the stigma of the disorder, so any work that clarifies the nature of the relationship between these two factors has many potential benefits. One important question that has not been completely answered is what factors distinguish people with epilepsy who have episodes of interictal aggression and rage from those who do not.

The cognitive abilities known as executive functions may play a large role in differentiating people with behavioral changes that include aggression from those without such changes. Solving interpersonal conflicts and managing aggressive impulses requires the application of the planning, organizing, and integrating abilities that are a part of the executive functions. People who have problems with executive functions also tend to have a loss of inhibitions that affects many areas. Some experts argue that aggression due to problems with executive functions is largely due to the reduced ability to maintain control over the way changes in mood are expressed in behavior.

Deficits in executive functions have been documented among both children and adults who have a history of aggression. Changes in behavior including aggression have also been observed in people who have suffered injury to the frontal lobes of the brain, where many structures crucial to executive functions are located. It may be that individuals with epilepsy are at higher risk for aggressive behavior only when they also have impaired executive functions.

Mark Cederbaum, M.A.
Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology
Yeshiva University
New York, NY

Topic Editor: Andres M. Kanner, M.D.
Last Reviewed:11/13/03


Welcome to the Wiki. This space is created for epilepsy.com members to share their own experiences and expertise to help refine and expand the discussion around important topics.

No members have yet contributed to this topic. If you are not yet an epilepsy.com member, register today to get started on this Wiki topic and the many other advantages of being a member. If you are a member and wish to be the first to edit this Wiki topic, please make sure to login, then click on the orange "Start Wiki" button at the top of this page. Or, learn more about Wikis.



Title Posted
Lamictal side effects/weight changes? Or Tegretol?  
elizleigh
Memory Problems with Surgery?  
trisper
Starting Lamictal  
rock956
Anyone on Lamictal AND Keppra?  
Bloodyrose
who am i?  
Daniella
Dateless2  
chew
Completely Confused and Totally Frustrated  
snoviasif
Motherhood and epilepsy  
DoveHorse12
Scared to go somewhere due to seizure  
DoveHorse12
6 months free of seizures :-)  
quirky
View all Forums

Title Page Views
my.epilepsy.com Updates  
epi_help
topamax and weight loss  
alexia mom
kepra  
brian mattingly
Possible cure for absence seizures  
pdl1
Epilepsy and marijuana  
cjad234
Sexual Side Effects  
George R
How exactly do aura's feel  
WendyBendy
MEDICAL ALERT I.D.'s  
picnupthepcs
Over 40 Different Types Of Seizures - Revised  
spiz
electrical shock in head?  
Maggie
View all Forums

Title Posted
A wookie looks at life 3  
wookie
Lost, alone, frustrated  
confuzzed
what others say!!!  
hayley G
Dose higher, Syntax Gone  
stephsobota
Better everyday  
kroiz
La la la la la, feelin' groovy  
stephsobota
ACTH Therapy is almost over  
aydensvoice
Wintery Wednsday  
IRobot
Depressed  
whofan
at night...  
whofan
View all Blogs

Title Page Views
Inspirational Quote - My Own Personal Inner Thoughts  
Butterflygrl
my partial complex seizures  
Zanna1211
Topomax... The Dreaded.........  
Dr Jason
Brain Zaps, tics & twitches  
JudiS
side effects of phenobarb.  
pksmom
Feeling Sick  
JBJ1984
Tegretol XR and ANXIETY meds  
Butterflygrl
How can you tell if a sleep seizure happens?  
epl_controller
Nonepileptic "Events" vs. "Seizures"  
teft
TYLENOL, AEDs & SEIZURES  
cmscribbles
View all Blogs

Title Posted
My story  
sanicay
Lindas episode  
binkey16
Newest phone call from the doctor  
Gingersnap
Don’t Struggle on Account of Collateral  
peterstochin
Temporal Seizure Disorder  
lespicasso
shake and shout from the inside out  
rikk
Why do I drop things?  
dmacasassy
cody  
codysmom
Miss  
cortex
Was Not Aware I was having a Seizure  
woodykatz
View all Stories

Place Your Advertisement Here

Is the material on epilepsy.com on balance?

Too complicated
12% (3 votes)
Too simple
4% (1 vote)
At the right level
84% (21 votes)
Total votes: 25

View results
View past poll results