THE Bible may contain the oldest recorded case of temporal lobe epilepsy.
Ezekiel, the prophet whose visions are recorded in a book of the Old Testament,
apparently had all the classic signs of the condition.
Earlier this year Eric Altschuler, a neuroscientist at the University of
California at San Diego, claimed that the Biblical strongman Samson may have
been the earliest known sufferer of antisocial personality disorder
(快猫短视频, 17 February, p 19).
Now he says that records in the Bible reveal that Ezekiel, who lived about 2600
years ago, showed extreme classic symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy.
People with the disease experience partial seizures, often accompanied by a
dreamy feeling that things are not quite as they should be. Patients are often
misdiagnosed with psychiatric problems. Neurologically, Ezekiel displayed some
obvious signs of epilepsy, such as frequent fainting spells and episodes of not
being able to speak.
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The Biblical figure, who chronicled the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC,
exhibited other peculiarities associated with the disease. For instance, he
wrote compulsively, a trait known as hypergraphia. Altschuler points out that
the Book of Ezekiel is the fourth longest in the Bible鈥攐nly
slightly shorter than Genesis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 impenetrable,鈥� he says. 鈥淗e goes
on and on.鈥�
Ezekiel was also extremely religious, another characteristic associated with
this form of epilepsy. While many Biblical figures are pious, none was as
aggressively religious as Ezekiel, says Altschuler. Other signs of epilepsy can
include aggression, delusions and pedantic speech鈥攁nd the man had them
all, Altschuler this week told a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San
Diego.
Understanding that Ezekiel may have suffered from epilepsy helps put his
writings into perspective, says Altschuler. 鈥淥nce you appreciate that, you can
see where he鈥檚 coming from.鈥� It also serves as further evidence that this
disease is genetic in origin. 鈥淚f there were no old cases,鈥� he says, 鈥渨e鈥檇 have
to ask if there was something wrong in our environment.鈥�