The neuropsychological profile of parietal and occipital lobe epilepsy

Publication date: May 2019Source: Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 94Author(s): Aikaterini Traianou, Panayiotis Patrikelis, Mary H. Kosmidis, Vasilios Κ. Kimiskidis, Stylianos GatzonisAbstractDespite the extensive body of research in clinical neurology on the functional organization of posterior cortices, parietal and occipital lobe epilepsy (PLE and OLE) have not as yet received the attention afforded frontal and temporal lobe epilepsy (FLE and TLE), perhaps due to their low prevalence. Posterior epilepsies however, represent a challenge for epileptology in general and neuropsychological differential diagnosis in particular. Our main purpose was to examine the likely existence of a pattern of cognitive dysfunction characterizing patients suffering from seizures with a parietal and/or occipital ictal onset. We hypothesized that such patients would present difficulties in the visuospatial and visuoconstructive domains, since spatial analysis and synthesis is an inherent feature of posterior cortical systems. Participants were 14 patients with epilepsy and 14 healthy controls matched for demographic characteristics (gender, age, and education level). We used an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests to assess auditory-verbal memory and learning, episodic memory, attention and working memory, verbal abilities, haptic perception, arithmetic abilities, and executive functions. Special attention was given to visuospatial abilities. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed t...
Source: Epilepsy and Behavior - Category: Neurology Source Type: research