Chuang Yao-Chung
Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung Medical Center, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Cyberpsychol Behav. 2006 Aug;9(4):451-6. doi: 10.1089/cpb.2006.9.451.
As the Internet has become rapidly and widely integrated into society, Internet addiction has become a growing psychosocial problem. However, epileptic seizure, another out-of-the-ordinary health problem, is often neglected in this regard. Ten patients who experienced epileptic seizures while playing the newest genre of electronic games -- Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) -- were investigated. Patients were predominantly male young adults, and most of the events were generalized tonic-clonic seizures, myoclonic seizures, and absences. These patients should be categorized into idiopathic generalized epilepsies. Even though photosensitivity was an important factor, behavioral and higher mental activities also seemed to be significant seizure precipitants. Results demonstrated that MMORPG-induced seizures were not analogous to the ordinary video game-induced seizures. Significantly, an epileptic seizure warning did not always appear on the websites of MMORPGs and instructions for the software. While the prevalence of MMORPG-induced seizures remains unknown, it may exceed our expectations and impact our society. Not only for clinical neurologists but also for the primary physicians, educators, sociologists, and global online game publishers, there should be an awareness of this special form of reflex seizures in order to provide an appropriate health warning to MMORPG players.
随着互联网迅速而广泛地融入社会，网络成瘾已成为一个日益严重的社会心理问题。然而，癫痫发作作为另一种特殊的健康问题，在这方面却常常被忽视。对10名在玩最新类型电子游戏——大型多人在线角色扮演游戏（MMORPG）时经历癫痫发作的患者进行了调查。患者主要是年轻男性，大多数发作类型为全身强直阵挛发作、肌阵挛发作和失神发作。这些患者应归类为特发性全身性癫痫。尽管光敏性是一个重要因素，但行为和高级心理活动似乎也是癫痫发作的重要诱发因素。结果表明，MMORPG诱发的癫痫发作与普通电子游戏诱发的癫痫发作不同。值得注意的是，MMORPG的网站和软件说明中并不总是会出现癫痫发作警告。虽然MMORPG诱发癫痫发作的患病率尚不清楚，但可能超出我们的预期并对社会产生影响。不仅临床神经科医生，而且基层医生、教育工作者、社会学家和全球网络游戏发行商，都应该认识到这种特殊形式的反射性癫痫发作，以便向MMORPG玩家提供适当的健康警告。
