Geschwind syndrome, also known as Waxman-Geschwind syndrome or "Gastaut-Geschwind" is a characteristic personality syndrome consisting of symptoms such as circumstantiality (excessive verbal output, stickiness, hypergraphia), altered sexuality (usually hyposexuality, meaning a decreased interest), and intensified mental life (deepened cognitive and emotional responses), hyper-religiosity and/or hyper-morality or moral ideas, that is present in some epilepsy patients. This syndrome is particularly associated with usually left-side temporal lobe epilepsy. For identification, the term "Geschwind syndrome" has been suggested as a name for this group of behavioral phenomena. There has currently been both support and criticism in suggestion of this syndrome. Currently the strongest support arises from many clinicians who describe and attempt to classify patients with seizures with these personality features. Some studies have suggested that Geschwind's syndrome represents a specific psychiatric disorder, yet it is important to note that epilepsy itself, including temporal lobe epilepsy, is a neurological condition, not a psychiatric condition. The term Geschwind's Syndrome comes from one of the two people who first characterized the syndrome: Norman Geschwind . His associate was Stephen Waxman who also did a great deal of work in the field. Note that Geschwind's Syndrome can be seen both in the inter-ictal (between seizures) and the ical (during seizures) states. While many epileptics experience this syndrome, some have come to call it Van Gogh's Malady.

References and External Links

• J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 14:155-160, May 2002 Beyond Wernicke's A Lexicon of Eponyms in Psychiatry David Bresch, M.D.
• Waxman SG, Geschwind N: The interictal behavior syndrome of temporal lobe epilepsy. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1975; 32:1580-1586
• http://www.nchicha.com/cupofchicha/archives/001834.shtml
• http://www.epilepsy.com/articles/ar_1064250059.html