Habituation of the orienting reaction in patients with post-meningoencephalitic epilepsy.

A polygraphic study on resistance to habituation of the somatic, autonomic and EEG components of the orienting reaction elicited by a repetitive auditory stimulus was performed in 29 patients with post-meningoencephalitic epilepsy and in 116 matched subjects in 3 control groups. The study showed a significantly higher resistance to habituation of the orienting reaction in patients with post-menigoencephalitic epilepsy than in control subjects. The degree of habituation disturbance depend on frequency, electro-clinical form and history of the seizures.