Verbal memory impairment in children with focal epilepsy

Findings of both material- and hemisphere-specific influence on memory performance in children with epilepsy are inconsistent. Verbal memory of 80 children with focal epilepsy, aged 7 to 16, was assessed and compared with verbal memory of 80 healthy schoolchildren. The Verbal Selective Reminding test was used to distinguish between patients with left-sided (N=38) and patients with right-sided (N=42) electroencephalographic focal abnormalities. In addition, groups with temporal (N=36) and extratemporal (N=44) focal epilepsy were compared. Effects of seizure-related variables were also assessed. Children with focal epilepsy scored significantly lower on tests when compared with the healthy group. Lateralization of the EEG focus was not found to significantly affect verbal memory performance. Only the CLTR component of the Verbal Selective Reminding test was susceptible to lateralization and localization effects. Differences between the group with left and the group with right temporal epilepsy (P<0.03) and between the group with temporal and the group with extratemporal epilepsy (P<0.01) reached statistical significance.