Does head-turning during a seizure have lateralizing or localizing significance?

ABSTRACT

Forced lateralized head-turning, occurring as the first clinical sign in 106 epileptic seizures in 43 patients, was recorded on videotape simultaneously with the EEG. Forty-five ictal EEGs were obtained with stereotaxically implanted intracerebral electrodes. Forced head-turning was seen with seizures that had a frontal, temporal, unilateral diffuse, or a generalized onset in the EEG. Ipsilateral was as common as contralateral head-turning in all groups, including the seizures with frontal lobe onset. Initial head-turning in a seizure has no localizing or lateralizing significance.