Music triggered rare epilepsy in girl

A rare form of epilepsy forced Stacey Gayle to remove music from her life. However, two surgeries at Long Island Jewish Medical Center have changed all of that.
Gayle, a 24-year-old resident of Rosedale, was first diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 21. She sought treatment at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at LIJ, which is part of the Harvey Cushing Institutes of Neuroscience.
When medications failed, Gayle continued to go through diagnostic tests. She eventually made the connection that certain songs were triggering her seizures.
Gayle, who is originally from Canada, was diagnosed as having musicogenic epilepsy. The condition is so rare that hers is only one of five cases in the world that are known.
The song that initially started to cause some of her seizures was Sean Paul’s “Temperature,” although it went on to spread to other songs. However, she also had seizures not caused by music.
Dr. Ashesh Mehta, the Director of Epilepsy Surgery at LIJ Medical Center, said that two components of musical perception, understanding and emotional response, occur in the temporal lobe of the brain. When there is an abnormality in the brain, seizures can be caused.
“The general principal here is that the pattern the music creates may set off a pattern of activity in the brain,” Mehta said. “That pattern of activity, if it occurs in a certain structure of the brain that is abnormal, may cause it to have a seizure.”
With music being heard in many places, Gayle’s condition severely impacted her life. Aside from not listening to music, she had to take a leave of absence from her job and stopped going to church, where she was a member of the choir.
“It did affect my life in a big way. Everywhere you go there’s music,” Gayle said. She continued, “A world without music - it’s not good at all.”
Gayle underwent two surgeries that were performed by Mehta. The first implanted the brain with electrodes. During the second surgery, which took place on October 3, Mehta removed the electrodes and the part of the right temporal lobe that was abnormal.
Gayle has now been seizure-free for more than three months. She has rejoined her church choir, is going to York College to study childhood education and once again is able to listen to music.
“I always live each day like it’s my last. I am the master of my own destiny, and in that respect, I possess no disabilities,” Gayle said. “I want to show others that life does not end at epilepsy. I know I have what it takes to succeed.”
Gayle’s mother, Marhlan, said that she cannot believe her daughter is doing all that she is.
“I feel very proud of her,” she said.