Teaching Video NeuroImages:
Dancing epilepsy

Ritu Bagla, MD
John S. Khoury, MD
Christopher Skidmore,

MD

A 39-year-old, right-handed man with refractory
complex partial seizures after head trauma at age 15
(figure 1) was admitted for video-EEG monitoring.
His girlfriend describes dancing movements with un-
responsiveness lasting a few minutes (see video). The
interictal EEG was suggestive of a left temporal focus
(figure 2); however, the ictal EEG was poorly local-
ized and the overall localization was not determined.
The dancing semiology is not typical of temporal
lobe epilepsy, since automatisms involving proximal
muscles and complex behaviors, such as bicycling,
are suggestive of frontal lobe epilepsy.1 Dancing is
another behavioral manifestation of epilepsy that has
not been previously reported.

REFERENCE
1. Kotagal P, Arunkumar G, Hammel J, Mascha ED. Com-

plex partial seizures of frontal lobe onset: statistical analysis
of ictal semiology. Seizure 2003;12:268–281.

Supplemental data at
www.neurology.org

Figure 2 Interictal EEG

Interictal left anterior temporal sharp waves. Sensitivity 150 �V/mm.

Address correspondence and
reprint requests to Dr. John
Khoury, 900 Walnut St., Suite
200, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Jskhoury@gmail.com

From Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (R.B., J.S.K., C.S.) and Thomas Jefferson Medical College (C.S.), Philadelphia, PA.

Disclosure: Dr. Skidmore has the following conflicts of interest to disclose for research support: UCB Pharma, Ortho McNeil, Schwarz,
Medtronic, Neuropace, Ovation, Marinus, NIH. He is a consultant for the Amarin Corporation and a speaker for UCB Pharma and Ortho
McNeil.

Figure 1 Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery
coronal MRI revealed
encephalomalacia and gliosis in the
left frontal and right anterior
temporal regions

RESIDENT
& FELLOW
SECTION

Section Editor
Mitchell S.V. Elkind,
MD, MS

e114 Copyright © 2009 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.



DOI 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181a825f0
2009;72;e114 Neurology 

Ritu Bagla, John S. Khoury and Christopher Skidmore
: Dancing epilepsyImagesTeaching Video Neuro

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