Did Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky suffer from mesial temporal lobe epilepsy?

Seizure. 2005 Jul;14(5):324-30. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2005.04.004.

Abstract

Many scientific authors--among them famous names such as Henri Gastaut or Sigmund Freud--dealt with the question from what kind of epilepsy Fyodor Mikhailovitch Dostoevsky (1821-1881) might had suffered. Because of the tight interplay between Dostoevsky's literary work and his own disease we throw light on the author's epilepsy against the background of his epileptic fictional characters. Moreover, we attempt to classify Dostoevsky's epilepsy on the basis of his bibliography, language, and literary work.

Publication types

  • Biography
  • Historical Article
  • Portrait

MeSH terms

  • Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / diagnosis*
  • Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / history
  • Famous Persons*
  • History, 19th Century
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medicine in Literature*
  • Middle Aged
  • Russia

Personal name as subject

  • F M Dostoevsky