Attention, memory, and behavioral adjustment in children with frontal lobe epilepsy

To explore whether attention, memory, and behavior would be more affected in children with frontal lobe epilepsy than in children with other types of epilepsy, we compared 16 children with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE), 8 with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), and 8 with generalized absence (GEA) seizures on the Performance Speed (PS) and Freedom of Distraction (FD) indices of the WISC-III, the Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), and Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). Parents completed Achenbach’s Child Behavior Check List. Children with FLE scored significantly lower than the other two groups on the PS and CPT. On the CVLT they made more intrusion errors and were more prone to interference. Furthermore, they had more difficulties copying and recalling the ROCF. Behavior profiles revealed greater attention problems in this group. This may put children with FLE at greater risk of developing school problems than children with TLE and GEA.