EPILEPSY IN TWINS

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Abstract
IT IS now generally recognized that convulsive disorders, or epilepsy, are associated with a disturbance in the electrical activity of the brain, a cerebral dysrhythmia. The convulsive disorder and the cerebral dysrhythmia may result from genetic and/or acquired influences. The inheritance of monozygotic (single ovum) twins is similar, while the inheritance of dizygotic (double ovum) twins is the same as that of ordinary siblings. Studies of twin pairs are, therefore, of great importance in evaluating the influence of "heredity" and "environment" in the production of convulsive disorders. As the brain wave pattern has been shown to be a hereditary trait,1 electroencephalographic studies are a useful adjunct in the study of twins.2 Information gained from the study of twins is necessarily restricted by the small numbers available for investigation, and most reports in the past have dealt with only a few twin pairs.3 Lennox was able to collect

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