Behaviors induced or disrupted by complex partial seizures

We reviewed the neural mechanisms underlying some postictal behaviors that are induced or disrupted by temporal lobe seizures in humans and animals. I t is proposed that the psychomotor behaviors and automatisms induced by tem poral lobe seizures are mediated by the nucleus accumbens. A non-convulsive hippocampal afterdischarge in rats induced an increase in locomotor activi ty, which was suppressed by the injection of dopamine D-2 receptor antagoni st in the nucleus accumbens, and blocked by inactivation of the medial sept um. In contrast, a convulsive hippocampal or amygdala seizure induced behav ioral hypoactivity, perhaps by the spread of the seizure into the frontal c ortex and opiate-mediated postictal depression. Mechanisms underlying posti ctal psychosis, memory disruption and other long-term behavioral alteration s after temporal lobe seizures, are discussed. In conclusion, many of the c hanges of postictal behaviors observed after temporal lobe seizures in huma ns may be found in animals, and the basis of the behavioral change may be e xplained as a change in neural processing in the temporal lobe and the conn ecting subcortical structures. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights re served.