DISTURBI DELLA SFERA SESSUALE IN SOGGETTI CON EPILESSIA TEMPORALE DIVERSAMENTE LATERALIZZATA: APPLICAZIONE DI UN QUESTIONARIO STANDARDIZZATO

Several Authors have observed a diminished sexual interest in patients with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (Gastaut e Collomb, 1954; Ellison et al., 1982). However, it is not clear whether or not the behavioral disturbances are influenced by the laterality of the EEG focus. Some recent data seem to suggest the existence of the interemispheric differences as for the regulation of both emotional and sexual behavior. Some authors consider the laterality of the EEG focus as a relevant factor only in women but not in men (Herzog et al, 1986; Herzog et al., 1986). In order to clarify these issues, we tested a group of temporal lobe epileptic patients with a standardized questionnaire (Azzoni et al., 1987) composed of two fundamental sections: the first one explores the whole field of interests of the subject, the second one explores both the sexual arousal and the sexual performances of the subject. In both males and females sexual interest resulted to be more impaired in patients with a right-sided focus. In male patients with a left temporal focus interindividual relationships were mostly disturbed with serious consequences for a satisfying sexual life.