Die Temporallappenepilepsie und ihre Psychopathologie. Ein Beitrag zur Kenntnis psychophysischer Korrelationen bei Epilepsie und Hirnläsionen.

The purpose of this monograph by the medical director of the Swiss colony for epileptics is to investigate whether there is a real psychopathological difference between temporal-lobe epilepsy and generalized epilepsy, whether psychic disturbances are unusually frequent in the former, of what nature they are, and to what one may attribute them. Neurological and other nonpsychic phenomena are largely ignored.

The author begins with a thorough summary of the pertinent literature, which occupies 58 pages. This indicated that (1) pathological chronic psychic disturbances are unusually frequent in temporal-lobe epilepsy in contrast to other forms; (2) these changes, mostly clearly of psychotic aspect (usually schizophreniform) but also neurotic, psychopathic, or other are very varied and show no unified pattern; (3) it is indicated (but not proven) that temporal foci in the EEG are more frequent than EEG abnormalities in other localities; (4) a normal EEG in the presence of a psychotic