Assessment of higher mental functions in patients with idiopathic (genetic) generalized epilepsies

Abstract

© 2020 National Academy of Pediatric Science and Innovation. All rights reserved. The article reviews the influence of idiopathic (genetic) generalized forms of epilepsy on higher mental functions. It is a common view that those forms have the least impact on the maturation of mental functions in children and adolescents and on the neuropsychological status of adult patients. The results of the higher mental functions dynamics assessment in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsies are heterogeneous for a number of reasons that are analyzed in the article (the most important reasons are the lack of a unified methodology for cognitive functions evaluation, the lack of separation of the effects of epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs, the lack of differentiation of genetic generalized forms of epilepsy when processing the results). According to the authors, the following mental functions decrease to a greater extent: memory, executive functions, visual-spatial gnosis and speech.