Dissociative seizures - a critical review and perspective
Abstract
Dissociative seizures are commonly recognized as both a challenging and a poorly understood condition. Though research and publication activity is high, advances in knowledge and insight seem only moderate in recent years. This review focuses on some relevant problematic issues, which might account for a still unsatisfactory research state. A general tendency to deal with dissociative seizures as an assumed disorder in its own nosological right and not as a sole symptom of an underlying psychiatric disorder is most likely one of the major roots of the problem. Unfavorable impacts of this confusion pertaining to clinical management, therapy, and outcome of dissociative seizures are discussed. An alternative point of view, based on the immanent psychiatric and psychodynamic roots of dissociative seizures, is considered.
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Loss of consciousness and memory are not nosological entities on their own, but rather symptoms of an underlying psychiatric disorder or condition.
“They are no nosological entity on their own, but rather the symptom of an underlying psychiatric disorder or condition, as we have already described earlier (99).”
From Combined Fainting and Psychogenic Non-epileptic Seizures as Significant Therapy Hurdles in Blood-Injury-Injection Phobia: A Mini-Review and Case Report (2022) · cites this paper as [99]
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von Mücke-Heim, I.-A., Walter, I., Nischwitz, S., & Erhardt, A. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.915058 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“They are no nosological entity on their own, but rather the symptom of an underlying psychiatric disorder or condition, as we have already described earlier (99).”
Background
- Authors
- Schmutz, M.
- Affiliations
- Swiss Epilepsy Center (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Schmutz, Matthias
- Venue
- Epilepsy & Behavior
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-12
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 449-456
- ISSN
- 1525-5050 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2051541065
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 86
- Citations by year
- 2025: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 4
- FWCI
- 0.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Epilepsy & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Epilepsy research and treatment
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Keywords
- psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, disease classification, psychiatric comorbidity, psychodynamic model, clinical management, treatment outcomes, epilepsy
- MeSH terms
- Conversion Disorder, Dissociative Disorders, Humans, Psychophysiologic Disorders, Seizures
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