title: Hemispheric lateralization of cognitive functions in children with centrotemporal spikes.
abstract: We assessed the impact of unilateral epileptic foci in benign idiopathic partial epilepsy of childhood with rolandic discharges (BECT) on performance and hemispheric specialization in lateralized cognitive functions. Six children with BECT with a left-sided focus (BECT-L), 6 children with BECT with a right-sided focus (BECT-R), and 12 control children were tested in verbal, visual-spatial, and visual-attention tasks, with visual hemifield presentation. Children with BECT-R were impaired in the visual-spatial task relative to those with BECT-L, and the typical left-hemisphere (LH) advantage was not reported in the verbal task in children with BECT-L. Additionally, the classic global superiority effect was lacking in children with BECT-R, which may be due to impaired performance of the right hemisphere specialized in global (vs local)-level processing. These data argue for the deleterious effect of epileptic discharges per se on cognitive functions in the developing brain, and the decisive role of epileptic focus lateralization in specific cognitive impairments and hemispheric specialization.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Etude des Mécanismes Cognitifs/Dynamique du Langage, UMR 5596, Université Lyon 2, 5, avenue Pierre Mendès-France, 69676, Bron Cedex, France. nathalie.bedoin@univ-lyon2.fr
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bedoin
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Herbillon
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lamoury
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arthaud-Garde
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ostrowsky
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: De Bellescize
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kéo Kosal
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Damon
authors.forename: Ch
authors.initials: Ch
authors.lastname: Rousselle
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D019305:Epilepsy, Rolandic / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology*