ABSTRACT
Although it is recognized universally that the brain is dysfunctional during an epileptic seizure, it is appreciated less frequently that brain dysfunction continues to exist between attacks in many people with epilepsy. This is demonstrated by the electroencephalogram (EEG), which often shows epileptiform abnormalities interictally in patients with epilepsy. Indeed, were this not the case, the EEG would be of little value except when seizures were recorded. Because the brain is the basis for a person’s ability to adjust to the stresses and strains of everyday life, it is reasonable to expect that difficulties in adjustment may be found even between attacks in a number of people with epilepsy. This has been demonstrated, with 77% of people with epilepsy showing behavioral, intellectual, or neurological problems beyond their seizure disorders (Rodin, 1977). This study and many others cited within this chapter show that psychosocial and emotional factors represent a substantial proportion of the complicating concerns found in epilepsy.
