A Case of Musicogenic Epilepsy

ABSTRACT

In Patients subject to convulsions the attacks occur sporadically, and the factors reponsible for precipitation of a seizure at any given time are usually unknown. In a small number of patients certain sensory stimuli may consistently initiate an attack. The sensory modality involved varies in different patients however, the entire group has been referred to by the term 'reflex epilepsy.' In certain rare instances, listening to music produces seizures and this subdivision of reflex epilepsy has been called "musicogenic epilepsy". By the Critchley, in 1937, several particular types of musical stimuli were reported, but frequency of such stmuli was much rare and there has been no report yet in Korea. This 40 years old fernale patient revealed a ternporal lobe seizure, which appeared whenever listened to old korean popular songs. The etiology was not known and the response to anti-epileptic drugs was good.