Auras localized to the temporal lobe disrupt verbal memory and learning — Causal evidence from direct electrical stimulation of the hippocampus

Publication date: 2018Source: Epilepsy & Behavior Case Reports, Volume 10Author(s): Diana Pizarro, Emilia Toth, Auriana Irannejad, Kristen O. Riley, Zeenat Jaisani, Wolfgang Muhlhofer, Roy Martin, Sandipan PatiAbstractAuras (focal aware seizure; FAS) are subjective ictal events with retained consciousness. Epileptiform activities can disrupt cognitive tasks, but studies are limited to seizures with impaired awareness. As a proof of concept, we examined the cognitive effects of direct electrical stimulation to the left hippocampus which induced a habitual FAS in a patient with left mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. During the induced habitual FAS, verbal memory performance declined significantly as compared to pre-stimulation testing. Tasks measuring auditory working memory and psychomotor processing speed were not affected by the stimulation. The study confirms that FAS can impair episodic verbal memory and learning.
Source: Epilepsy and Behavior Case Reports - Category: Neurology Source Type: research