Frontal lobe epilepsy in children and adolescents: a preliminary neuropsychological assessment of executive function

Although research on adults with frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) has increased in recent years, delays in frontal lobe development preclude the generalization of these findings to children. This study compared children with FLE with typically developing children on cognitive and executive tests. Additionally, the differences between children with early and late seizure onset were explored. Results indicated comparable intelligence among all groups; however, the FLE cohort performed worse than controls on executive tests. The age of seizure onset differentially affected executive performance, such that early FLE onset resulted in greater executive dysfunction. The implications of these findings are discussed.