Ekstaas ja epilepsia. Seksist spirituaalsuseni – patoloogia pingeväljas
Abstract
Ecstasy and Epilepsy: From Sex to Spirituality via Pathology
The paper explores the phenomenon of ecstatic epileptic seizures. The idea that in certain cases epileptic discharges in the brain induce intense feelings of ecstasy is originally derived from literary heritage of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. First I outline the concept and then I present a couple of firsthand descriptions of ecstatic fits available in medical reports. These show that the nature of epileptic ecstasy varies from highly spiritual and abstract phenomena to directly sexual and sensory ones. In fact, there is evidence of ictal orgasms in relation to the phenomenon. Albeit it is generally believed that ecstatic seizures are extremely rare, the recent case studies raise the suspicion that the frequency of the phenomenon may be seriously underestimated. Most people who have experienced ictal ecstasy have likely either never reported it or are unaware of its epileptic nature. As to localizing the probable epileptogenic foci behind ecstatic seizures – literature review shows that even though no single structure can be pointed at with any degree of certainty, there seems to exist an “ecstatic network” including the subcortical regions of the temporal lobe, especially the anterior insular cortex, amygdala and hippocampus of the non-dominant side. The involvement of certain frontal and parietal areas is also likely. The paper concludes with a discussion of how to interpret the finding that some of the most sublime spiritual states attainable to human beings seem to be analyzable in terms of organic pathology.
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