Dissociation : Vol. 1, No. 4, p. 017-023 : A comparison study of dissociative symtoms in patients with complex partial seizures, MPD, and posttraumatic stress disorder
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Date
1988-12
Authors
Loewenstein, Richard J.
Putnam, Frank W., 1947-
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Multiple Personality and Dissociation
Abstract
Depersonalization and dissociative symptoms have been widely reported in chronic seizure disorder patients, especially those with temporal lobe involvement and complex partial seizures (CPS). It has been theorized that development of multiple personality disorder (MPD) may be related to temporal lobe pathology. We administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) to 12 male patients with severe chronic epilepsy, primarily of the complex partial type. Patients had had epilepsy from one to thirty years. Most were being evaluated for intractable seizures occurring several times per week. DES data on the epileptic patients were compared with DES data on 9 male MPD patients and 39 male PTSD patients. MPD and PTSD patients were significantly different from CPS patients on median DES scores and all DES sub-scale scores. MPD and PTSD patients were far more similar on the DES, although MPD patients had a significantly higher score on the dissociation/psychogenic amnesia sub-scale of the DES. The authors conclude that there is little data to support a relationship between MPD, dissociation, and epilepsy.
Description
p. 017-023