Koro: computed tomography and brain electrical activity mapping in two patients.

In koro, the sensation of penile retraction is coupled with an intense fear that death will occur once the retraction is complete. Koro has been reported mainly in Southeast Asia, and it occurs in both epidemic and sporadic forms. Two cases, the first each in natives of Haiti and Ethiopia, are presented. Similarities between them and computed tomography and brain electrical activity mapping data are used to support the concept that sporadic koro may be a form of right temporoparietal or bitemporoparietal dysfunction similar to sexual epilepsy. The hypothesis is advanced that epidemic koro occurs in permissive cultures when groups of individuals imitate sporadic koro.