Melissa Filippini
IRCCS-Institute of Neurological Sciences, Italy
Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Neurol Disord
Benign Epilepsy with Centro-Temporal Spikes (BECTS) is the most common idiopathic childhood focal epilepsy. Many studies have shown neuropsychological difficulties in BECTS children, despite a normal intelligence, involving memory, language and attention, sometimes relating them to the frequency of Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep Interictal Epileptiform Discharges (IED). Moreover, the atypical evolutions of BECTS form a spectrum of conditions comprising Atypical BECTS and suggest that the ongoing nocturnal activity specifically determines the neuropsychological deficit whose degree and severity depend on the extent of awake and sleep activity, and on the predominant discharge localization. In Typical and Atypical BECTS, the transitory neuropsychological deficits related to sleep IED can become enduring despite EEG and seizure control. The nature of this trouble has been supposed to be a short-term form of language-related memory deficit attributed to dysfunction of temporal areas, so much affected by increasing degrees of NREM IED to cause a persistent risk for learning disorders. The use of electrophysiological measures beside the EEG, such as the cognitive evoked-potential Mis-Match Negativity (MMN) detecting auditory discrimination, can provide clues about the neurobiological substrate of the neuropsychological deficits. Moreover, results obtained by the recording of MMN procure suggestions for neuropsychological diagnosis and treatment. The early (i.e., during the developmental sensitive periods) detection of auditory deficit can reduce the risk of further developmental disorders, such as learning disorders.
Email: melissa.filippini@libero.it
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