Language assessment in temporal lobe epilepsy: correlations with structural and functional neuroimage.

Abstract

Patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) have hippocampal sclerosis with consequent deficit in episodic memory and also difficulties related to language, especially the naming and atypical lateralization for language suggesting the involvement of the mesial temporal lobe in this cognitive function. However, the mechanisms associated with this deficit are poorly known, because the mesial temporal region is anatomically distant from the areas responsible for language. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the language, in addition to episodic memory and executive function in patients with MTLE, correlating these data with structural and functional neuroimaging. In order to we will include 20 subjects in each group: with unilateral hippocampal atrophy (right or left) and bilateral, without hippocampal atrophy; refractory to drug treatment, with good response to drug treatment and control subjects. All will undergo cognitive assessment, through the Edinburgh handedness test, Boston naming test, test and categorical phonemic verbal fluency, verbal and visual pairs associated with the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, Rey auditory verbal learning test, trail making-A and B and the Stroop test and also will undergo magnetic resonance imaging for structural and functional. Data will be analyzed using statistical software SYSTAT 9 and statistical parametric mapping (SPM 8) depending on the type of variable for comparisons of cognitive performance and neuroimaging between groups, and correlations between cognitive and neuroimaging using appropriate statistical tests for each analysis.