Did Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky suffer from mesial temporal lobe epilepsy?

Abstract

Many scientific authors--among them famous names such as Henri Gastaut or Sigmund Freud--dealt with the question from what kind of epilepsy Fyodor Mikhailovitch Dostoevsky (1821-1881) might had suffered. Because of the tight interplay between Dostoevsky's literary work and his own disease we throw light on the author's epilepsy against the background of his epileptic fictional characters. Moreover, we attempt to classify Dostoevsky's epilepsy on the basis of his bibliography, language, and literary work.

The possible role of the insula in the epilepsy and the gambling disorder of Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“…It was an interesting turn when Cirignotta, Todesco, and Lugaresi (1980) first registered ictal temporal discharge on electroencephalogram (EEG) in a patient with ecstatic aura, confirming the temporal lobe as the symptomatic zone – thus ending the 20-year-long scientific debate. Based on this new evidence of the existence of an epileptic ecstatic aura, a consensus formed about Dostoyevsky’s epilepsy and his ecstatic seizures being of temporal lobe origin (Baumann, Novikov, Regard, & Siegel, 2005; Hughes, 2005; Rayport, Rayport, & Schell, 2011; Rice, 1985; Rossetti, 2006; Seneviratne, 2010). This localization hypothesis has been considered as valid for almost 30 years although in the light of recent data it has been strongly queried.…”

Evaluation of Posterior Hippocampal Epileptogenicity During Epilepsy Surgery For Temporal Lobe Cavernoma by the Occipital Approach

“…4,6 Tailored removal to improve seizure outcomes and preserve cognitive function Because cavernomas are surrounded by a hemosiderin rim that may become epileptogenic (the so-called "peritumoral residual irritative zone"), the rim should be removed to improve postoperative seizure outcomes. 3,28 In addition, because secondary epileptogenesis may occur in the hippocampus as a "dual pathology" such as hippocampal sclerosis, it may be necessary to resect hippocampal tissue in cases with epileptiform discharge from the hippocampus or with hippocampal atrophy. 15,17,24 Li et al reported completely seizure-free rates of 73%, 20%, and 12.5% after lesionectomy plus medial temporal lobe resection, medial temporal lobe resection alone, and lesionectomy alone, respectively.…”

Epilepsy in Dostoevsky

“…In 1963 Alajouanine had already proposed a diagnosis of temporal lobe epilepsy in Dostoevsky (Alajouanine, 1963); a hypothesis that has been backed with some twenty-first century assessments (Baumann et al, 2005). And indeed, based on theoretical superstructure free modern diagnostic criteria and taking into consideration the biographical data inferred from literary depictions as well as other writings, his notebook, correspondence and witnessed accounts from his contemporaries, it would seem difficult to go any further than to say that Dostoevsky's disease falls into the category of cryptogenic localization-related epilepsy of probable fronto-mesial (Iniesta, 2004) or of temporal lobe origin (Iniesta, 2008).…”