Autoscopic phenomena with seizures
O. Devinsky, E. Feldmann, K. Burrowes and E. Bromfield
Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Md.
We report the cases of 10 patients with seizures and autoscopic phenomena,
which include seeing one's double and out-of-body experiences, and review
33 additional cases of autoscopic seizures from the literature. Autoscopic
phenomena may be symptoms of simple partial, complex partial, or
generalized tonoclonic seizures. Autoscopic seizures may be more common
than is recognized; we found a 6.3% incidence in the patients we
interviewed. The temporal lobe was involved in 18 (86%) of the 21 patients
in whom the seizure focus could be identified. There was no clear
lateralization of lesions in patients with ictal autoscopy. The response of
autoscopic episodes to treatment usually paralleled that of the underlying
seizure disorder. Autoscopic phenomena are likely to be discovered only on
specific questioning of patients with epilepsy and may be an important,
distressing feature of a chronic seizure disorder.
