Neuroethology application for the study of human temporal lobe epilepsy: From basic to applied sciences

The aim of this investigation was to apply neuroethology to the study of human temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). For this purpose, 42 seizures in 7 patients recorded during video/EEG monitoring (1997-1998) were analyzed by means of a behavioral glossary containing all behaviors. Video recordings were reobserved, and all patients' behaviors were annotated second-by-second. Data were analyzed using Ethomatic software and displayed as flowcharts including frequency, mean duration, and sequential statistic interaction of behavioral items (chi2 > or = 10.827, P<0.001). Flowcharts of (1) a group of seizures from a single patient, (2) the sum of four seizures per patient of two patients with right and five patients with left TLE, and (3) the comparison of left versus right TLE are shown. Well-established data in the literature were confirmed, such as aura (especially epigastric), contralateral lateralization value of dystonia and version, consciousness and language alterations in ictal and postictal periods, mostly with respect to dominant hemisphere involvement, among others. Less well established data such as awakening seizures in TLE patients, lateralization value of facial wiping (ipsilateral to the focus), statistically significant associations between behavioral pairs (dyads), and new behavioral sequences in TLE were also observed. We suggest that neuroethology also has great potential in the study of human epilepsy semiology. This work had an important role in method standardization for human epilepsy, setting the basis for the development of future clinical studies including correlation with other diagnostic methods (EEG, magnetic resonance, and SPECT). The next step will be the comparative study of seizures of patients with left and right TLE, with a greater number of patients, and the development of a digital video library.