Memory outcome after pediatric epilepsy surgery: objective and subjective perspectives.
Memory was investigated in 27 children and adolescents in a longitudinal study before and at one and two years after epilepsy surgery. A comparison group with intractable epilepsy (n = 15), matched in age, sex, age of seizure onset, and IQ, was studied at comparable points in time. Methods included administration of standardized measures of story recall and face recognition, and qualitative interviews to probe the participants' perceptions of their memory function over time. There was no significant change over time in either group on the standardized measures. Site and laterality of excision, age at surgery, and seizure outcome were not predictive of change within the surgical group. The narratives revealed facets of memory that were problematic in daily life. The objective and subjective results showed low concordance regarding change, possibly due to limitations in the objective measures for capturing semantic and autobiographical memory.
Lou Smith
Mary
M
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. smithml@psych.utoronto.ca
Elliott
Irene M
IM
Lach
Lucyna
L
D000293:Adolescent; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009864:Ontario; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012647:Self-Assessment