Pathology type does not predict language lateralization in children with medically intractable epilepsy

Abstract

We examined potential differences in the effects of pathology type on language lateralization in pediatric epilepsy. We examined findings from intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure (IAP/Wada) in a large consecutive sample of children with refractory epilepsy. Subjects were assigned to one of three pathology groups: developmental (n = 28), acquired (n = 26), and tumor (n = 20); groups were compared for language lateralization. Rates of atypical language lateralization did not differ across groups. Greater than half of the subjects with left hemisphere insults and seizure onset before 6 years of age had atypical language lateralization, independent of pathology type. Atypical language lateralization may occur in the context of developmental, acquired, and/or tumor pathology.