title: Postictal hyperfamiliarity for unknown faces.
abstract: Hyperfamiliarity for unknown faces (HFUF) is a rare disorder in which unfamiliar people or faces appear familiar. Three young adults were admitted for acute symptomatic secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures (two) and psychomotor status (one). During the days following the seizures the patients continuously experienced a strong familiarity for unknown people, including other patients, visitors, and hospital staff. This disorder disappeared gradually, lasting a mean of 13 days. Brain MRI showed left amygdalohippocampal lesions, suggesting the etiology of encephalitis in two patients and multiple "active" demyelinating lesions in one patient. Interictal and ictal EEG findings showed left temporal epileptiform abnormalities. Two patients had a transitory defect of verbal memory. HFUF is a newly defined postictal symptom, more likely to arise from left temporal epileptic discharges. In our cases it was associated with acute lesions of the temporal areas, suggesting that its occurrence may also imply a structural etiology of epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, Ospedale Bellaria, Bologna, Italy. roberto.michelucci@ausl.bo.it
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Michelucci
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riguzzi
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rubboli
authors.forename: Lilia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Volpi
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pasini
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Santoro
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meletti
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Benuzzi
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pittau
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Toni
authors.forename: Anna F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Marliani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004830:Epilepsy, Tonic-Clonic / Q000150:complications; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*