Chapter 100 - Auditory-induced epilepsy

Summary

Auditory-induced epilepsy has two subtypes: the "startle epilepsy", where seizures are related to a normal startle reflex that evokes a secondary pathological abnormality; the second is a condition in which seizures are usually related to more integrated stimuli (such as music) that induce an ictal cortical response. The ictal clinical features and related precipitating stimuli can be divided in two main subgroups. The first, more general group, comprising startle epilepsy, is characterized by symmetric or asymmetric tonic seizures evoked by sudden noise. In the second group, comprising other forms of auditory-induced epilepsy, seizures are triggered by a wider sample of stimuli, ranging from simple noise to more complex stimuli, such as music, sounds, voices, and the telephone. A wide spectrum of noises and sounds have been reported to induce more complex seizures, while some clinical conditions, such as musicogenic epilepsy and telephone-induced epilepsy, have been proposed as specific reflex syndromes.