Panic Attacks as Ictal Manifestations of Parietal Lobe Seizures

Summary: Although most panic attacks appear to be primary psychiatric disturbances, some evidence suggests a biologic basis for panic disorder, possibly associated with temporal lobe dysfunction. Fear is a common affective change associated with some complex partial seizures (CPS) originating from the right temporal lobe. We describe a previously unreported association between panic attacks and seizures originating from the parietal lobe in 2 patients with right parietal lobe tumors. Intracranial monitoring documented correlations between the symptoms of fear and restricted regional parietal cortical discharges. Surgical resections of the lesions (one total, one subtotal) resulted in complete recovery or improvement.