The interictal dysphoric disorder of epilepsy: Legend or reality?

For a long time, the relationships between epilepsy and mood disorders captured the attention of clinicians and neuroscientists. The existence of a peculiar clinical presentation for mood disorders in epilepsy has been a matter of debate since the early reports of Kraepelin and Bleuler. The interictal dysphoric disorder (IDD) represents the modern reinterpretation of such early observations. This paper reviews current research on this topic discussing clinical implications, phenomenological observations, and directions for future research.