Seizures Apparently Triggered by Video Games

Abstract

To the Editor.— We would like to add another case to the report of Dahlquist et al (1983;249:776) regarding video game-precipitated epilepsy. Report of a Case.— An 8-year-old boy traveled overnight with his family to a mountain resort, obtaining little sleep. After skiing for several hours, the patient separated from his family and began playing an arcade video game, where he suffered an unobserved fall. He was unresponsive for several minutes but gradually awoke and regained orientation. He did not recall falling. He was admitted to a local hospital, where, while sleeping in the early morning, he was observed to have a brief generalized convulsion. He was discharged receiving phenobarbital. An EEG obtained several weeks later demonstrated frequent spontaneous bursts of left focal polyspike and slow wave activity. The patient's first year of life was remarkable for a probable near-sudden infant death syndrome, from which he was resuscitated by his