Identity shifts in temporal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

It has long been suggested that there is an association between epilepsy and psychosis [1]. The psychosis associated with epilepsy may be ictal, postical or interictal, but usually is similar to the psychosis of schizophrenia. In fact, the phrase ‘schizophrenia-like psychosis’ has been used to describe the chronic psychosis of epilepsy. This syndrome, similar to schizophrenia, usually includes symptoms such as disorganized thought, auditory hallucinations and persecutory delusions [2]. It is also well known that patients with temporal lobe epilepsy can experience dissociative symptoms such as depersonalization and fugue [1]. Some cases of dissociative identity disorder have also been found in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy [3]. However, a Medline search found no reported cases of a patient adopting other people’s identities. In this case report, we describe an interesting patient with temporal lobe epilepsy who developed the acute onset of psychosis and dissociative identity symptoms. The unusual feature of this case was that the patient adopted other people’s identities. These identities included her mother, her uncle, and several different doctors.