Speed and Complexity Characterize Attention Problems in Children with Localization-Related Epilepsy

Berl, Madison; Terwilliger, Virginia; Scheller, Alexandra; Sepeta, Leigh; Walkowiak, Jenifer; Gaillard, William D.

doi:10.1111/epi.12985

Back to Previous Page

- Add this to...
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Google Bookmarks
- LinkedIn

Speed and Complexity Characterize Attention Problems in Children with Localization-Related Epilepsy

Published Date:

May 04 2015

Publisher's site:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/epi.12985 New Site Icon

Source:

Epilepsia. 56(6):833-840.

[PDF-312.76 KB]

Details:

Personal Authors:

Berl, Madison ; Terwilliger, Virginia ; Scheller, Alexandra ; Sepeta, Leigh ; Walkowiak, Jenifer ; ... More ▼

Keywords:

[+]

Pubmed ID:

25940056

Pubmed Central ID:

PMC4457628

Description:

Objective

Children with epilepsy (EPI) have a higher rate of ADHD (28–70%) than typically developing (TD) children (5–10%); however, attention is multidimensional. Thus, we aimed to characterize the profile of attention difficulties in children with epilepsy.

Methods

Seventy-five children with localization-related epilepsy ages 6–16 and 75 age-matched controls were evaluated using multimodal, multidimensional measures of attention including direct performance and parent ratings of attention as well as intelligence testing. We assessed group differences across attention measures, determined if parent rating predicted performance on attention measures, and examined if epilepsy characteristics were associated with attention skills.

Results

The EPI group performed worse than the TD group on timed and complex attention aspects of attention (p<.05), while performance on simple visual and simple auditory attention tasks was comparable. Children with EPI were 12 times as likely as TD children to have clinically elevated symptoms of inattention as rated by parents, but ratings were a weak predictor of attention performance. Earlier age of onset was associated with slower motor speed (p<.01), but no other epilepsy-related clinical characteristics were associated with attention skills.

Significance

This study clarifies the nature of the attention problems in pediatric epilepsy, which may be under recognized. Children with EPI had difficulty with complex attention and rapid response, not simple attention. As such, they may not exhibit difficulty until later in primary school when demands increase. Parent report with standard ADHD screening tools may underdetect these higher order attention difficulties. Thus, monitoring through direct neuropsychological performance is recommended.

Document Type:

Journal Article

Collection(s):

CDC Public Access

Funding:

Supporting Files:

	NIHMS670405-supplement-Supp_Material.doc	application/msword
	nihms670405.nxml	application/octet-stream
	nihms670405f1.gif	image/gif
	nihms670405f1.jpg	image/jpeg

No Related Documents.

You May Also Like:

Cognition and Brain Development in Children with Benign Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes (BECTS)

Personal Author:

Garcia-Ramos, Camille; Jackson, Daren C.; Lin, Jack J.; Dabbs, Kevin; Jones, Jana; Hsu, David A.; Stafstrom, Carl E.; Zawadzki, Lucy; Seidenberg, Michael; Prabhakaran, Vivek; Hermann, Bruce P.;

Published:

Sep 04 2015

Source:

Epilepsia. 56(10):1615-1622.

Description:

Objective : Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS), the most common focal childhood epilepsy, is associated with subtle abnormalities in cognition and possible developmental alterations in brain structure when compared to healthy particip...

File Type:

[PDF - 739.99 KB]
Modeling Seizure Self-Prediction: An E-Diary Study

Personal Author:

Haut, Sheryl R.; Hall, Charles B.; Borkowski, Thomas; Tennen, Howard; Lipton, Richard B.;

Published:

Sep 20 2013

Source:

Epilepsia. 54(11):1960-1967.

Description:

Purpose : A subset of patients with epilepsy successfully self-predicted seizures in a paper diary study. We conducted an e-diary study to ensure that prediction precedes seizures, and to characterize the prodromal features and time windows that unde...

File Type:

[PDF - 955.60 KB]
Living well with epilepsy; report of the 1997 National Conference on Public Health and Epilepsy

Corporate Author:

American Epilepsy Society; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.); Epilepsy Foundation of America; National Association of Epilepsy Centers; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (U.S.);

Conference Author:

National Conference on Public Health and Epilepsy (1997 : Orlando, FL)

Published:

1999?

Description:

"In late 1994, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened a group of experts representing the epilepsy treatment and advocacy communities to h...

File Type:

[PDF - 430.52 KB]
Apical Membrane Localization of the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Tumor Suppressor Protein and Subcellular Distribution of the β-Catenin Destruction Complex in Polarized Epithelial Cells

Personal Author:

Reinacher-Schick, Anke; Gumbiner, Barry M.;

Published:

Feb 5 2001

Source:

J Cell Biol. 2001; 152(3):491-502.

Description:

The adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) protein is implicated in the majority of hereditary and sporadic colon cancers. APC is known to function as a tumor suppressor through downregulation of beta-catenin as part of a high molecular weight complex know...

File Type:

[PDF - 585.74 KB]
Reduced Language Connectivity in Pediatric Epilepsy

Personal Author:

Leigh N., Sepeta; Louise J., Croft; Lauren A., Zimmaro; Elizabeth S., Duke; Virginia K., Terwilliger; Benjamin E., Yerys; Xiaozhen., You; Chandan J., Vaidya; William D., Gaillard; Madison M., Berl;

Published:

Dec 17 2014

Source:

Epilepsia. 56(2):273-282.

Description:

Objective : Functional connectivity (FC) among language regions is decreased in adults with epilepsy compared to controls, but less is known about FC in children with epilepsy. We sought to determine if language FC is reduced in pediatric epilepsy, a...

File Type:

[PDF - 386.61 KB]