Occipital lobe epilepsy with scotosensitive seizures: the role of central vision.

In four cases of occipital lobe epilepsy, clinical seizures and EEG discharges were evoked by darkness and/or closed eyes. In all cases the inducing factor was represented by the abolition of central vision. The importance of central vision in the excitation-inhibition process of the occipital EEG discharges is emphasized in light of the anatomophysiological organization of the visual system. Scotosensitive epilepsy and benign partial epilepsy of childhood with occipital spike-waves may represent the same clinical entity.