Abstract
Neuropsychological studies indicate that new-onset childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is associated with deficits in attention and executive functioning. However, the contribution of these deficits to impaired academic performance remains unclear. We aimed to examine whether attention and executive functioning deficits account for the academic difficulties prevalent in patients with new-onset CAE. We analyzed cognitive performance in several domains, including language, mathematics, psychomotor speed, spatial ability, memory, general intelligence, attention, and executive functioning, in 35 children with new-onset CAE and 33 control participants. Patients with new-onset CAE exhibited deficits in mathematics, general intelligence, attention, and executive functioning. Furthermore, attention deficits, as measured by a visual tracing task, accounted for impaired arithmetic performance in the new-onset CAE group. Therefore, attention deficits, rather than impaired general intelligence or executive functioning, may be responsible for arithmetic performance deficits in patients with new-onset CAE.
Highlights
Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is a common type of epilepsy that affects approximately 8% of preschoolers and school children with epilepsy [1]
We evaluated a group of children with newly diagnosed and untreated CAE, to test the hypothesis that patients with new-onset CAE would exhibit deficits in attention and executive functioning that may account for academic difficulties
This study examined neurocognitive deficits in patients with newonset CAE to clarify the contributions of attention and executive functioning in academic performance and achievement
Summary
Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is a common type of epilepsy that affects approximately 8% of preschoolers and school children with epilepsy [1]. CAE was previously considered to be a “benign” epilepsy syndrome that is relatively easy to control [3, 4], more recent studies have reported that children with CAE exhibit neurocognitive functional deficits [1, 5, 6]. Patients with CAE demonstrate deficits in visuospatial skills [1], attention [6], and verbal memory [7], and executive functioning and motor control [8]. Impairments in attention, executive functioning, and academic performance (including language and mathematics) have been reported even in patients who have been newly diagnosed with CAE [5, 9]
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