These changes can be in electrophysiology (e.g., “neural exhaustion”), cerebral blood flow, and neurotransmitter systems and receptors (Fisher & Schachter, 2000 Gursahani & Gupta, 2012). The postictal state is thought to occur due to changes that take place in the brain following a seizure.
Postictal psychosis is a relatively common and treatable mental state characterized by hallucinations, delirium, paranoia, mood disturbances, and disordered thoughts developing after a seizure or cluster of seizures (Morrow, Lafayette, Bromfield, & Fricchione, 2006 Logsdail & Toone, 1988).
Additional symptoms include depression, fatigue, neurovegetative states, anxiety, confusion, memory problems, and postictal psychosis (Devinsky, 2008 Fisher & Engel, 2010 Fisher & Schachter, 2000 Kanner, Soto, & Gross-Kanner, 2004 Kiriakopoulos & Shafer, 2017). On average about 75% of people with epilepsy experience postictal psychiatric symptoms, and about 82% experience cognitive impairments during the postictal state (Fisher & Schachter, 2000 Josephone et al., 2016 Kanner, Soto, & Gross-Kanner, 2004 Krauss & Theodore, 2010 Pottkamper et al., 2020). Headaches and cognitive impairment, such as problems with attention and trouble thinking clearly are reported most often. The postictal state is the recovery period following a seizure where the patient may experience cognitive deficits, behavior changes, and psychiatric symptoms (Pottkamper et al., 2020).