Interictal behavior of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have been charted by various psychosocial and neuropsychiatric scales. To date, the evidence aligns left (LTE) and right (RTE) temporal epilepsy along axes of dysphoria-euphoria, catastrophic-denial reactions and hypo-hyperarousal, respectively. The profile of patients with LTE may be characterized as socially distant and negative, overly anxious, and colored by diminished self-esteem and lower sense of personal behavior; the converse may be true for RTE patients who advance a more positive image. In spite of these robust efforts to quantify interictal emotional or behavioral traits of TLE patients, relatively little attention has been dedicated to systematically evaluate the psychological effects and behavioral changes following interventive treatment such as temporal lobectomy. The present study draws comparisons of patients before and after unilateral lobectomy, and focuses on their enduring personality traits (Axis II) and self-perception in relation to internal and external frames of reference.
