Studies suggest a high frequency of epileptic auras with intellectual
content among epileptic patients with psychopathology and personality
disorders. This study compared measures of personality and psychosocial
functioning between epileptic patients with cognitive auras and epileptic
patients with noncognitive auras. Ten patients with complex partial
seizures who experienced cognitive auras had consistently more depressive
traits and psychosocial difficulties than 50 patients with other psychic or
nonpsychic auras, particularly if the patients with cognitive auras had
left hemisphere epileptiform foci. Cognitive auras may be associated with
depressive traits among epileptic patients. The findings were also in
agreement with studies that relate the left hemisphere to depression.Abstract Teaser