Neurocognitive Profiles in Childhood Absence Epilepsy

A Focus on Cognitive Dysfunction Associated With the Frontal Lobe

Cheng, Dazhi PhD
Yan, Xiuxian MM
Gao, Zhijie MM
Xu, Keming MD
Zhou, Xinlin PhD
Chen, Qian MD

¹Department of Pediatric Neurology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China
²National Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China

Qian Chen, MD, Department of Pediatric Neurology, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China. Email: [email protected]

Received April 25, 2016

Received in revised form July 28, 2016

Accepted August 3, 2016

Journal of Child Neurology 32(1):p 46-52, January 2017. | DOI: 10.1177/0883073816668465

Although neuropsychological studies have demonstrated specific cognitive impairments in children with childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), the potential role of the frontal lobe in these cognitive deficits remains unclear. We therefore evaluated cognitive functions related to and unrelated to the functionality of the frontal lobe in childhood absence epilepsy patients and control subjects. Thirty-seven childhood absence epilepsy patients and 37 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects were recruited and assessed using a computerized neuropsychological test battery. Childhood absence epilepsy patients, especially a drug-naïve subgroup, showed cognitive deficits in reasoning, visual attention, and executive function, which are typical cognitive functions of the frontal lobe. In contrast, treated childhood absence epilepsy patients only exhibited cognitive deficits in visual attention. There were no significant between-group differences for other cognitive tests. Our findings suggest that frontal lobe–related cognitive deficits represent the characteristic neuropsychological profile associated with childhood absence epilepsy.