Epilepsy can affect memory and thinking
A peer-reviewed study shows that memory problems vary depending on where epileptic activity originates in the brain.
Epilepsy is not only about seizures: memory and other cognitive functions can also be affected. A German study in the journal Seizure compares the effects of epilepsy in the temporal and frontal lobes and shows that the pattern varies from patient to patient.
The researchers examined 56 people with temporal lobe epilepsy and 24 people with frontal lobe epilepsy. They combined memory tests with functional MRI, which shows which areas of the brain are active while learning and recognising images, faces and words.
In a task in which participants had to recognise what they had seen after a single learning session, both patient groups were comparably impaired. Differences did emerge in tests involving multiple learning sessions. People with left temporal lobe epilepsy more often had problems with delayed verbal recall and word recognition. In right temporal lobe epilepsy, the recall of figures was more impaired than in the frontal lobe group.
The MRI measurements were consistent with this. In temporal lobe epilepsy, the hippocampi on the side of the epileptic activity were smaller than in frontal lobe epilepsy. The hippocampus is involved in storing and retrieving memories. The study thus shows that the location of epileptic activity is associated with the type of memory problem, but not that one brain area is the sole cause.
The findings fit with a broader scientific pattern in which cognitive problems in epilepsy are seen as an important part of the condition. They may also be associated with sleep, mood, medication, the underlying cause of epilepsy and the duration of the illness. A memory test or scan is therefore not automatically predictive for any one person.
The research is peer-reviewed, but remains a single study involving patient groups from a specialised clinical context. The researchers mainly compared two forms of epilepsy; the results do not constitute treatment advice and do not say which therapy someone needs. The scientific value lies primarily in describing more precisely differences that need to be investigated further in healthcare and future research.
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The study design, numbers and main findings were checked through PubMed and the publication details. The text limits the conclusions to group level and explicitly mentions the peer-review status.
- confirmed The study included 56 people with temporal lobe epilepsy and 24 with frontal lobe epilepsy. — These numbers appear in the PubMed abstract. source
- confirmed Both groups were comparably impaired in the single-recognition task. — This is the main finding of the fMRI recognition task. source
- confirmed Left-sided temporal lobe epilepsy was associated with poorer delayed verbal recall. — The results in the abstract describe this pattern. source
- confirmed Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy had smaller hippocampi on the side of the epileptic activity. — This is reported in the study's results. source
- confirmed The study does not prove what treatment an individual patient needs. — This is a methodological limitation, not a medical treatment claim. source
Editor's note
The study is peer-reviewed and describes group differences. The results are not intended as individual medical advice and do not prove a causal link between one brain area and all cognitive problems.Sources
- Memory performance, hippocampal volumes and memory fMRI in frontal versus temporal lobe epilepsy — PubMed
- Memory performance, hippocampal volumes and memory fMRI in frontal versus temporal lobe epilepsy — Seizure / ScienceDirect
- Anfallsleiden: Wie Epilepsie das Denken und Erinnern beeinträchtigt — Spektrum der Wissenschaft
- The role of social context in cognitive and neurobehavioural outcomes in epilepsy — Nature Reviews Neurology
More on this in Dutch media
- NOS — „epilepsie geheugen”
- Het Parool — „epilepsie geheugen”
- Trouw — „epilepsie geheugen”