Dulness as an Epileptic Equivalent

THE VARIETIES OF "EPILEPTIC DETERIORATION" The idea that mental deterioration is a regular accompaniment of convulsions is all too firmly rooted in the minds of the public and of many physicians. Recent studies show, on the one hand, that mental deterioration occurs in only a minority of patients suffering from convulsions¹and that, on the other hand, when it does occur, it is often associated with evidences of widespread progressive cerebral atrophy.² So-called epileptic deterioration is sometimes ascribed to the use of anticonvulsant drugs. Careful observations show that in at least the great majority of cases the long-continued use of phenobarbital and bromides does not affect the mind, even after years of continuous treatment.¹Either of these standard drugs will, of course, produce somnolence and apathy if given in large doses, and often if given in therapeutic doses, but this is obviously a temporary matter. The fact