Katarzyna Pawlak-Osińska, Henryk Kaźmierczak, Jan Talar, Beata Semrau

Katarzyna Pawlak-Osińska, Henryk Kaźmierczak, Jan Talar, Beata Semrau – Electrophysiological tests in the evaluation of the central nervous system in patients with organic personality disturbances. Fizjoterapia Polska 2003; 3(1); 56-61

Abstract
Background. Emotional disturbances and personality disorders most often result from pathologies of structure in the fronto-basal region and the temporal lobe. Psychological and organic causes are intertwined even within the scope of a single disease. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the suitability of electrophysiological indicators of organic brain damage in patients presenting with personality disorders of confirmed organic etiology.Material and methods. 40 patients were enrolled in the study, 22 with closed-head injuries and 18 with brain tumors diagnosed on the basis of imaging tests. In 4 cases, the neoplastic process involved the temporal lobe, in 10 cases the frontal lobe, in 2 cases the medial region, and in 2 patients the fronto-temporal region. The control group consisted of 40 healthy persons with no history of head injury, no chronic illness, and no otoneurological symptoms. All the subjects were tested with electronystagmography (ENG) and electroencephalography (EEG) with mapping. Results. The ENG tests revealed the greatest differences in the frequency of occurrence of pathological reactions in the form of eye-tracking nystagmus, which was much more often found in persons with head injuries. Spontaneous nystagmus with eyes open or closed and positional nystagmus appeared more often in persons with brain tumor. Pathologies in the EEG were found much more often in patients with post-traumatic syndrome, with a frequency that differed significantly from that of the brain tumor group. Conclusions. Pathologies detected in ENG and EEG tests were common in patients with organic personality disturbances. Asymmetry and qualitative disturbances in optokinetic nystagmus and the pendulum test, accompanied by abnormal results from superliminal caloric tests, were the most common pathological findings. Abnormal EEG co-occurred with personality disorders of both post-traumatic and neoplastic origin, but were distinctly more common in the closed-head injury group.

Key words:
personality disturbances, electronystagmography, electroencephalography

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