Ecstatic seizures

Ecstatic seizures, also called ecstatic epilepsy or Dostoevsky's epilepsy, are a rare type of epilepsy in which seizures include an aura of intensely blissful, euphoric or ecstatic sensations, along with a sense of physical wellbeing and heightened awareness, and they are a form of focal epilepsy. These experiences often include an altered sense of time and are frequently described by those who have them as mystical, spiritual or religious, sometimes profoundly changing their outlook on life. Researchers believe the seizures are driven by the dorsal anterior insula region of the brain, since electrical stimulation there can reproduce the ecstatic experience, and current theory holds that the sensations arise from a temporary blocking of the brain's normal prediction error signals, which are usually tied to uncertainty and negative emotion. The Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky, who experienced these seizures himself, gave the earliest literary descriptions of them in the mid to late 1800s, and as of 2023 only about fifty documented cases existed.