General neuropsychological characteristics of frontal lobe epilepsy

Abstract

The neuropsychological characteristics of frontal lobe epilepsy have rarely been reported, with neuropsychological indicators usually being related to subjects with other forms of neurological damage. In this study we assessed the performance of 74 subjects with frontal lobe epilepsy (42 with left, 32 with right frontal epileptic foci) on a series of measures thought to be sensitive to frontal lobe dysfunction and compared to 57 subjects with temporal lobe epilepsy (31 with left, 26 with right epileptic foci). The results indicated a number of measures that could be considered sensitive to frontal lobe epileptic dysfunction, However, the pattern of results did not indicate consistent deficits to be associated with frontal lobe epileptic dysfunction. There are a number of unique factors associated with epilepsy that need to be considered, and these may account for the variable pattern of results obtained. In particular, the rapid propagation of frontal lobe seizures both bilaterally and to other cortical regions has to be considered.