Modern Perspectives on Epilepsy in Relation to Psychiatry: Behavioral Disturbances of Epilepsy

In this paper, the second of a two part series on current psychiatric aspects of epilepsy, the authors consider the classification and management of the various kinds of psychoses and other behavior disturbances associated with some cases of epilepsy. After discussing the common aspects of epilepsy and schizophrenia, they describe attempts to categorize epileptic psychoses, focusing on a classification of ten kinds of phychoses that they believe has broadest application. They present guidelines for psychopharmacological management of epilepsy accompanied by behavior disturbance, with emphasis on anticonvulsant monotherapy, and they discuss possibly related seizure disorders and possible etiologies of behavioral symptoms of epilepsy.