Focal paroxysmal EEG changes during atypical panic attacks.

Atypical panic attacks include features such as focal paresthesias or sensory distortions, but attempts to demonstrate a relationship to partial seizures have been unsuccessful. Two patients with atypical panic attacks had attacks during EEG monitoring: one during a routine EEG in the EEG laboratory, the other at home during ambulatory monitoring. Focal paroxysms of sharp wave activity appeared on both patients' EEGs coincident with the spontaneous onset of panic attack symptoms. Both patients remained conscious. The correlation of focal paroxysmal EEG changes with panic attack symptoms suggests that these attacks were produced by partial seizure activity. Further study of the relationship between panic attacks and seizures is indicated.