[Cognitive disorders in adult epilepsy patients]

Cognitive deficits are frequent in epileptic patients and can be considered as epileptic behavioral markers. They are assessed by a neuropsychological exploration that requires the use of standardized psychometric tests with well-established goals, that will be discussed in this paper. The obtained neuropsychological data complement information provided by other investigations. The manifestation of cognitive deficits associated with epilepsy depends on a variety of factors in which some are specific to epilepsy. These disorders affect in certain cases the intellectual functioning as well as other aspects of cognition, as emphasised in this paper, and may be accentuated by medically intractable seizures.