Musicogenic epilepsy? Avoid Sean Paul

Posted by Daniel Stout on Sat 19 Jan 2008 at 1:03 PM

MSNBC has an interesting Associated Press story about a woman named Stacey Gayle in Alberta, Canada, who has a rare condition called musicogenic epilepsy. Gayle suffered from having many seizures throughout the day, and at some point began to suspect that listening to music was causing her seizures.

Eighteen months ago, she began to suspect that music by reggae and hip-hop artist Sean Paul was triggering some of her seizures. She recalled being at a barbecue and collapsing when the Jamaican rapper’s music started playing, and then remembered having a previous seizure when she heard his music.

Her suspicions were confirmed on a visit to the Long Island medical center last February, when she played Paul’s hit “Temperature” on her iPod for doctors. Soon after, she suffered three seizures.

So watch out: listening to Sean Paul’s music may be damaging to your health. Fortunately she had surgery, which has eliminated the seizures. The doctors studied her condition, and hopefully they found some scientific insights into the strange brain activity that was taking place. Not being able to listen to music would be a horrible fate!

Tags: alberta · canada · music · musicogenic epilepsy · sean paul · stacey gayle · temperature

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