Temporal lobe epilepsy and the selective reminding test: the conventional 30-minute delay suffices.
Conventional memory assessment may fail to identify memory dysfunction characterized by intact recall for a relatively brief period but rapid forgetting thereafter. This study assessed learning and retention after 30-min and 24-hr delays on auditory and visual selective reminding tests (SRTs) in right (n=20) and left (n=22) temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients and controls (n=49). The left TLE group performed significantly worse than controls on all 3 trials of both tests. The right TLE group differed from the controls on all 3 visual SRT trials and on learning for the auditory SRT. There were no between-groups differences in rate of information lost at the 30-min versus the 24-hr delay. At the individual level, there was no difference in the percentage of patients versus controls who demonstrated isolated memory impairment at the 24-hr delay. Accelerated forgetting over 24 hr is uncommon in TLE patients.
Bell
Brian D
BD
Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA. bell@neurology.wisc.edu
Fine
Jason
J
Dow
Christian
C
Seidenberg
Michael
M
Hermann
Bruce P
BP
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001307:Auditory Perception; D002648:Child; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013997:Time Factors; D014796:Visual Perception