Chapter 9 - Epilepsy

Abstract

This chapter reviews the persistent memory impairments that have been found in epileptic patients, the chronic effects of anticonvulsant medication on memory performance in epileptic patients, and the effects of brain stimulation in epileptic subjects. Epilepsy can be considered a collection of clinical phenomenon rather than a specific pathological state. Studies have shown the temporal lobe tissue to be the site of pathology underlying the epilepsy. Patients with epilepsy originating in the temporal lobes have been found to be particularly impaired on memory tasks compared to patients with more generalized epileptic disturbance and to patients whose foci have been localized to other regions of the brain. Some epileptic patients have a structural lesion underlying their condition, whereas a large proportion of patients show no evidence of specific pathology. The assessment of memory functioning in epileptic patients during an epileptic discharge is limited by the relative unpredictability of such events. On the other hand, where paroxysmal activity is induced by psychological stimulation, memory performance appears to be more critically disturbed the closer the activity occurs in relation to attempted recall. In the management of epileptic memory deficiencies, anticonvulsant medication has been reported to have significant effects on memory function.