Abstracts

Recent research in pediatric epilepsy surgery candidates (Mabbott and Smith, 2003) suggests a relationship between illness severity and story recall impairment. However, story recall in children with medically treated epilepsy and the association with both working memory and language skill remain unclear. This study compared immediate and delayed story recall performance in children with cryptogenic complex partial seizures (CPS) and normal IQ to normal controls. Controlling for language, demographic and IQ variables, we expected CPS children to differ from normals on both aspects of the story recall task despite similar working memory scores. We also hypothesized that the CPS story recall task performance would not correlate with working memory task performance but with seizure variables, including early age of onset of epilepsy, and increased number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs)., Trained clinicians administered measures of [italic]cognitive ability[/italic] (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for ChildrenThird Edition), [italic]language skill[/italic] (Test of Language Development) [italic]working memory [/italic](Digits Backwards, Test of Memory and Learning), and [italic]story recall-immediate and delayed[/italic] (Test of Memory and Learning) to 31 CPS children and 32 normals aged 6 through 14 years. Seizure variable data was obtained through a structured parent interview., With IQ in the model, MANCOVA revealed that the CPS children performed below the normal children on the Memory for Stories subtests. They scored lower than controls on both the Memory for Stories and Memory for Stories Delayed subtests. Linear regression analyses revealed Digits Backward had a significant association with performance on the Memory for Stories task for normals. Within the CPS group, Digits Backward was not correlated with performance on the Memory for Stories tasks. AED polytherapy, but no other seizure variables, was significantly related to reduced performance on the Memory for Stories tasks., CPS children manifest story recall deficits and do not appear to benefit from their intact working memory skills when learning and recalling stories. This suggests that these children, unlike normals, may not use working memory strategies effectively to encode and recall prose. Identifying story recall deficits in children with CPS and the possible association with AED polytherapy has relevant clinical implications pertaining to academic success., (Supported by Grant #[quot]s NS32070 and MH067187awareded to Rochelle Caplan, M.D.
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