Hypercognitive seizures − Proposal of a new term for the phenomenon forced thinking in epilepsy

- Raising thoughts and words in the context of an epileptic seizure so far have been classified as forced thinking.
- This symptom is likely generated by extratemporal probably often frontal lobe regions.
- This term has been used for similar but distinguishable phenomena like verbal hallucinations or forced movements.
- We propose the term hypercognitive seizure instead to be used to classify paroxysmal rising of thoughts, ideas or words.

Here we propose the term hypercognitive seizures as a descriptor for seizures that manifest as a transient mental experience of intrusive thoughts or words that do not consist mainly of reminiscence. Currently, the term forced thinking is used to describe this uncommon seizure semiology, which has also been elicited by electrical brain stimulation. The available literature on forced thinking shows discordant interpretations of its meaning, justifying the suggestion of a new descriptor. In this paper, we would like to suggest and explain the term hypercognitive seizure and argue that this type of seizure lateralizes to the dominant hemisphere.