A Visual Learning and Memory Test for Preoperative Evaluation of Patients with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Abstract

We used a modified version of the visual DCS (mDCS) test to study patterns of learning, free recall, and recognition capacity in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (N = 24) and controls (N = 38). The patients were under consideration for epilepsy surgery. The mDCS differentiated left from right TLE patients in all aspects of visuospatial learning and delayed recall. The mDCS revealed lower performance for TLE patients as compared with controls. The present results indicate that the mDCS may be a preoperative tool to differentiate left from right TLE.

Key Words:

• epilepsy
• neuropsychology
• adult
• visual memory