Reduction in apathy following epilepsy surgery

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science
• Neurosurgery

Background:

• Epilepsy surgery can alter patient behavior, sometimes causing new neuropsychiatric symptoms or alleviating pre-existing ones.
• Standard psychiatric diagnostic criteria may not accurately assess behavioral changes in epilepsy patients.
• Frontal-subcortical dysfunction is a key concern in post-surgical epilepsy patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe) to measure behaviors linked to frontal-subcortical dysfunction.
• To evaluate behavioral changes in patients who underwent surgical intervention for medically refractory epilepsy.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-three epilepsy surgery patients and their family informants completed the FrSBe.
• The FrSBe assesses executive dysfunction, disinhibition, and apathy before and after surgery.
• Both patient and informant ratings were collected for pre- and post-surgical behaviors.

Main Results:

• Informants reported a significant reduction in apathy post-surgery compared to executive dysfunction or disinhibition.
• A trend suggested apathy reduction after right hemisphere resections.

Conclusions:

• Epilepsy surgery patients exhibited reduced apathy, but the causal link to surgery requires further investigation.
• The FrSBe appears useful for studying behavioral alterations following epilepsy surgery.
• Dimensional scales like the FrSBe are recommended for future research on post-surgical behavioral changes.