Devine Michael J, Duncan John S
National Society for Epilepsy, Chesham Lane, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks SL9 0RJ, United Kingdom.
Seizure. 2007 Dec;16(8):717-21. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2007.06.001. Epub 2007 Aug 6.
Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures can co-exist with epileptic seizures. Differentiating between the two is central to appropriate management. We report the case of a patient with established focal epilepsy who developed psychogenic non-epileptic seizures in direct response to second-person auditory hallucinations. To our knowledge, this is the first description of such an occurrence. These non-epileptic seizures improved with treatment of the underlying psychosis. The relationship between epilepsy and psychosis is outlined, and the possible causes and nosology of these psychogenic non-epileptic seizures are discussed.