An uncommon automatism with religious connotation—Prostration in a case of right temporal lobe epilepsy

Motor automatisms are common in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), such as lip smacking, hand fumbling, nose wiping, or walking around. However, automatisms with religious annotations have rarely been reported. Prostration is a special gesture that places the body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. In major world religions such as Buddhism, prostration is employed as an act of submissiveness or worship to a supreme being or other worshiped entities like God or the gods. Automatism like prostration has never been mentioned in past literature. We report a Chinese patient with right TLE and this automatism of prostration.