title: Epilepsy and art: Windows into complexity and comorbidities.
abstract: The views of artists with epilepsy as expressed through their art provide unique opportunities to gain understanding of the experiences of living with epilepsy and related comorbidities. This paper provides a glimpse into art collected from an international group of artists with epilepsy, focusing on ictal and postictal experiences, psychiatric comorbidities, and social aspects of epilepsy. The art serves to enhance understanding among clinicians and neuroscientists of what it means to have epilepsy as well as to reduce misunderstanding and stigma among the public. It may also inspire neuroscientists to further explore the underlying neurological basis to the rich tapestries of ictal, postictal, and interictal experiences of persons with epilepsy. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Epilepsy, Art, and Creativity".
authors.affiliation: Consortia for Improving Medicine with Innovation & Technology, Boston, MA, USA; Departments of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: sschacht@bidmc.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Steven C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Schachter
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D001154:Art; D015897:Comorbidity; D003405:Creativity; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: Anxiety; Art; Depression; Epilepsy; Quality of life; Seizure