Abstract
Various studies have described an unusually common incidence of sexual and reproductive dysfunction in patients affected by temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The purpose of the present study was to further investigate, by means of an ad hoc questionnaire, the relationship between sexual disorders and the hemispheric laterality of the epileptic focus in men and women with right (R) TLE and left (L) TLE. The results suggest a reduction of sexual interest in patients with R-TLE as compared with L-TLE in both men and women. This effect was fundamentally observed when sexual interest was implicitly explored. No significant difference was found between R-TLE and L-TLE groups concerning most aspects of sexual performance. Various hypotheses are discussed to interpret this effect of hemispheric lateralization on sexual interest.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 617-624 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Biological Psychiatry |
Volume | 42 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1997 |
Keywords
- Cerebral dominance
- Complex partial seizures
- Libido
- Sexual behavior
- Sexual disorders
- Temporal lobe epilepsy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biological Psychiatry