Reliability of patient self-report of cognition, awareness, and consciousness during seizures.

Objective: Clinicians rely on patient self-report of impairment during seizures for decisions including driving eligibility. However, the reliability of patient reports on cognitive and behavioral functions during seizures remains unknown.

Methods: We administered a daily questionnaire to epilepsy patients undergoing continuous video-EEG monitoring, asking about responsiveness, speech, memory, awareness, and consciousness during seizures in the preceding 24 hours.

Impaired Serotonergic Brainstem Function during and after Seizures.

Unlabelled: Impaired breathing, cardiac function, and arousal during and after seizures are important causes of morbidity and mortality. Previous work suggests that these changes are associated with depressed brainstem function in the ictal and post-ictal periods. Lower brainstem serotonergic systems are postulated to play an important role in cardiorespiratory changes during and after seizures, whereas upper brainstem serotonergic and other systems regulate arousal.

Epilepsy and driving: potential impact of transient impaired consciousness.

Driving is an important part of everyday life for most adults, and restrictions on driving can place a significant burden on individuals diagnosed with epilepsy. Although sensorimotor deficits during seizures may impair driving, decreased level of consciousness often has a more global effect on patients' ability to respond appropriately to the environment. Better understanding of the mechanisms underlying alteration of consciousness in epilepsy is important for decision-making by people with epilepsy, their physicians, and regulators in regard to the question of fitness to drive.