Epilepsy related to cerebral blood flow and metabolism.

In an epileptic focus there is a three-fold increase of the regional cerebral metabolism and blood flow. This has been shown with the 133 Xenon technique and with positron emission tomography. Such studies suggest that, in temporal lobe epilepsy, the pathways from the deep temporal structures to the frontal lobes do not function normally. The temporal 'gate' to the frontal lobes may be closed. This may explain symptoms of psychopathology in this common type of focal epilepsy.