Musical epilepsy: when the song in your head triggers seizures
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
In recent years, music has been the subject of much attention for its therapeutic value, but for a minute portion of the population, music can cause more harm than good. For these people, hearing certain music, which is specific and unique to each individual, can trigger a seizure. One of the earliest reported cases of musicogenic epilepsy was that of the 19th century Russian music critic, Nikonov. According to a firsthand account, “During the ice-skating Ballet in the third act [of the long since forgotten opera The Prophet by Meyerbeer], he became tremulous, sweated profusely, and his left eye began to twitch.”1 Eventually, Nikonov’s seizures became so bad he was forced to renounce his profession entirely and flee when he came across any sort of band on the street. He went on to publish a pamphlet The Fear of Music, concerning his unique and somewhat tragic relationship with music.