X-Files - Waxman-Geshwind

Question

In season 4 / episode 23 Mulder and Scully talk about the Waxman-Geshwind Syndrome.

Sometimes Syndromes and/or Phenomenons that are part of the episode, exists in reality.

Does Waxman-Geschwind exist in reality?

Answer 1

Yes, it's a real (albeit controversial) neuro-psychological condition

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geschwind_syndrome

"Geschwind syndrome, also known as Gastaut-Geschwind, is a group of behavioral phenomena evident in some people with temporal lobe epilepsy. It is named for one of the first individuals to categorize the symptoms, Norman Geschwind, who published prolifically on the topic from 1973 to 1984. There is controversy surrounding whether it is a true neuropsychiatric disorder.

Temporal lobe epilepsy causes chronic, mild, interictal (i.e. between seizures) changes in personality, which slowly intensify over time. Geschwind syndrome includes five primary changes; hypergraphia,hyperreligiosity, atypical (usually reduced) sexuality, circumstantiality, and intensified mental life.

The "Waxman" part comes from that Stephen G. Waxman, MD, PhD was co-author on one of the pivotal papers.

Answer 2

The transcript also labels it Dostoevsky Syndrome which also has a real-life corollary:

The fullest description of what have been termed ‘religious seizures’, comes from the writing of Dostoyevsky (hence the sobriquet ‘Dostoyevsky seizures’), particularly in the character of Prince Myshkin in ‘The Idiot,’ whose epilepsy is a key motif throughout the book.

The seizures described by Dostoyevsky do not have explicit religious content, so the term ‘religious seizure’ is unhelpful. More accurate perhaps is James Leuba’s ‘ecstatic seizures’. In his 1925 classic, he describes some cases.

From Royal College of Psychiatrists publication

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Alasdair%20Coles%20Temporal%20lobe%20epilepsy%20and%20Dostoyevsky%20seizures.pdf