Electroclinical study of video-game epilepsy.

Seven patients (five boys, two girls) with video-game epilepsy (VGE) are reported, which reflects the fact that these games have increased in popularity recently among Japanese children. Their ages at onset ranged from four to 13 years. The seizure phenomena were of three types: generalised tonic-clonic, partial seizure and headache. Interictal physical and neurological examinations were within normal limits. EEGs taken while they played video-games confirmed the diagnosis of VGE and revealed three triggers of seizures: flashing lights, special figure patterns and scene-changing. They were recommended to avoid playing video-games, but sodium valproate was effective if seizures persisted even after such avoidance.