title: Content analysis of subjective experiences in partial epileptic seizures.
abstract: A new content analysis method for systematically describing the phenomenology of subjective experiences in connection with partial epileptic seizures is described. Forty patients provided 262 descriptions of subjective experience relative to their partial epileptic seizures. The results revealed that subjective experiences during seizures consist mostly of sensory and bodily sensations, hallucinatory experiences, and thinking. The majority of subjective experiences during seizures are bizarre and distorted; nevertheless, the patients are able to engage in adequate behavior. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study for which detailed subjective seizure descriptions were collected immediately after each seizure and the first study in which the content of verbal reports of subjective experiences during seizures, including both the ictal and postictal experiences, has been analyzed in detail.
authors: Neurological Rehabilitation Clinic, Stora Sköndal Foundation, 128 85 Sköndal, Sweden. mirjajohansson@bredband.net
authors: Mirja
authors: M
authors: Johanson
authors: Katja
authors: K
authors: Valli
authors: Antti
authors: A
authors: Revonsuo
authors: Jan-Eric
authors: JE
authors: Wedlund
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012640:Seizures / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology