Neuropsychological findings in idiopathic occipital lobe epilepsies.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
We reviewed the clinical charts of 22 patients (mean age 12 years) with idiopathic occipital lobe epilepsies (IOLE) to verify the presence of visuoperceptual difficulties.

METHODS:
All 22 patients underwent a standard neuropsychiatric examination and had a sleep electroencephalogram (EEG). Eleven had normal development and adequate scholastic achievements, so no formal testing was performed. Psychological assessment was carried out in the remaining 11 patients who had been referred because of learning and behavioral difficulties.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS:
IQ was in the average/low-average range in most patients, with a cognitive profile characterized by relatively better verbal than performance abilities (8/11). There was a high incidence of scholastic disabilities (7/11); psychiatric disorders in the form of anxiety and depressive disorders were also frequent (6/11). In the six patients who had neuropsychological assessment with specific visuoperceptual testing, a deficit in facial discrimination was found in four patients, associated with a line orientation deficit in three. Although preliminary, and based on a tertiary-care clinical sample, these data suggest that children with IOLE, are at risk for lower intellectual performance, poor scholastic achievement and psychiatric disorders, as well as for specific deficits in the visuoperceptual domain, probably due to dysfunction of the occipitotemporal circuitries most often involved in seizure spread in epilepsies originating in the posterior brain.

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Author information

Author/s: Chilosi, Anna Maria (AM); Brovedani, Paola (P); Moscatelli, M (M); Bonanni, Paolo (P); Guerrini, Renzo (R);

Affiliation: Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. a.chilosi(-atsign-)inpe.unipi.it

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Epilepsia (Epilepsia), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-; vol 47 Suppl 2 (issue ) : pp 76-8

Dates: Created 2006/11/19; Completed 2007/03/19;

PMID: 17105468, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Achievement
Child
Cognition Disorders - diagnosis
Electroencephalography - statistics & numerical data
Epilepsies, Partial - diagnosis
Female
Humans
Learning Disorders - diagnosis

Learning Disorders - diagnosis
Male
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data
Perceptual Disorders - diagnosis
Prosopagnosia - diagnosis
Risk Factors
Sleep - physiology

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