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CC BY 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2023; 81(04): 384-391
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1758443
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Epilepsy and the “dark” literature of the Greek novelist Demosthenes Voutyras: an outstanding epileptic personality

Epilepsia e a literatura “sombria” do romancista grego Demosthenes Voutyras: uma personalidade epilética notável
Panayiotis Patrikelis 
1   National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Evangelismos Hospital, First Department of Neurosurgery, Athens, Greece.
2   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Philosophy, School of Psychology, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Lambros Messinis 
2   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Philosophy, School of Psychology, Thessaloniki, Greece.
3   University Hospital of Patras, School of Medicine, Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Patras, Greece.
,
Vasiliki Folia 
2   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Philosophy, School of Psychology, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Grigorios Nasios 
4   University of Ioannina, School of Health Sciences, Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Ioannina, Greece.
,
Athanasia Alexoudi 
1   National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Evangelismos Hospital, First Department of Neurosurgery, Athens, Greece.
,
Anastasia Verentzioti 
1   National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Evangelismos Hospital, First Department of Neurosurgery, Athens, Greece.
,
Stefanos Korfias 
1   National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Evangelismos Hospital, First Department of Neurosurgery, Athens, Greece.
,
Vasileios Kimiskidis 
5   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, 1st Department of Neurology, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Stylianos Gatzonis 
1   National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Evangelismos Hospital, First Department of Neurosurgery, Athens, Greece.
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Abstract

Background The role of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in determining personality traits and neurobehavioral symptoms, collectively known as the interictal behavioral syndrome (also known as Geschwind syndrome or “Gastaut-Geschwind syndrome”), as well as the syndrome's association with the particular artistic expression of many epileptic litterateurs are well known in neurology and psychiatry. A deepening of emotionality along with a serious, highly ethical, and spiritual behavior have been described as positive personality changes among patients with chronic mesial-TLE.

Objectives Our narrative-based clinical hypothesis aims at contributing to the ongoing debate on the association between TLE and artistic expression, as well as the latter's supposed implication for epileptology in general and the neuropsychology of epilepsy in particular.

Methods Through an analysis of the biography, language, and literary work of Greek novelist Demosthenes Voutyras, we hypothesize that his mystical and dark writing style could be attributed to medial temporal interictal dynamics.

Conclusions We suggest that the psycholiterary profile of Voutyras is consistent with the idiosyncratic characteristics of the temporal lobe personality, while a non-dominant temporal lobe contribution has been proposed.

Resumo

Antecedentes O papel da epilepsia do lobo temporal (ELT) na determinação de traços de personalidade e sintomas neurocomportamentais, coletivamente conhecidos como síndrome comportamental interictal (também conhecida como síndrome de Geschwind ou “síndrome de Gastaut-Geschwind”), bem como a associação da síndrome com o expressão de muitos literatos epilépticos são bem conhecidos em neurologia e psiquiatria. Um aprofundamento da emotividade juntamente com um comportamento sério, altamente ético e espiritual tem sido descrito como mudanças positivas de personalidade em pacientes com ELT mesial crônica.

Objetivos A nossa hipótese clínica narrativa visa contribuir para o debate em curso sobre a associação entre ELT e a expressão artística, bem como a suposta implicação desta última para a epilepsia em geral e a neuropsicologia da epilepsia em particular.

Métodos Através de uma análise da biografia, linguagem e obra literária do romancista grego Demóstenes Voutyras, levantamos a hipótese de que seu estilo de escrita místico e sombrio poderia ser atribuído à dinâmica interictal temporal medial.

Conclusões Sugerimos que o perfil psicoliterário de Voutyras é consistente com as características idiossincráticas da personalidade do lobo temporal, enquanto uma contribuição do lobo temporal não dominante foi proposta.

Keywords

Epilepsy - Seizures - Metaphor - Medicine in Literature - Research Report

Palavras-chave

Epilepsia - Convulsões - Metáfora - Medicina na Literatura - Relatório de Pesquisa

Authors' Contributions

PP, VK, SG: conceived the idea; LM, VF, GN: addressed the epistemological issues of the manuscript; AA, AV, SK: focused on bibliographic documentation; all authors contributed to the final manuscript.




Publication History

Received: 07 March 2022

Accepted: 02 June 2022

Article published online:
28 February 2023

© 2023. Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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