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Updated: Dec 10, 2025
Author Spotlight: Studying Clinical Characters and Epilepsy Outcomes After Frontal Disconnection in Patients with MOGHE
Published on: August 16, 2024
Postoperative improvement of executive function and adaptive behavior in children with intractable epilepsy
Riyo Ueda1, Yoshimi Kaga2, Yosuke Kita3
1Department of Developmental Disorders, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Child Neurology, National Center Hospital, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
Introduction:
An alteration in postoperative cognitive function varies according to the patients' background characteristics, such as etiology, focus, and seizure duration. Accurate prediction and assessment of postoperative cognitive function is difficult in each patient. Adaptive behavior could describe the typical performance of daily activities and represents the ability to translate cognitive potential into real-world skills. We examined the relationship between alterations of executive function (EF) and adaptive behavior in school children undergoing surgery for intractable epilepsy.
Methodology:
We enrolled 31 children with focal resection or corpus callosotomy for intractable epilepsy [mean age at surgery, 12.5 years; 16 boys; mean intellectual quotient, 73.3]. We surveyed answered questionnaires on attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and adaptive behavior using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, 2nd edition (VABS-II), and performed continuous performance tests (CPTs) on children pre- and postoperatively.
Result:
ADHD and ASD symptoms improved after epilepsy surgery. The omission error (OE) in the CPT variable improved after epilepsy surgery, especially in children with a shorter preoperative period. Improved ASD symptoms led to an increased score of the coping skills subdomain. The reduced OE observed after surgery also increased the score of the community skills subdomain.
Conclusion:
Improvement in EF and ASD symptoms resulted in better adaptive behavior postoperatively. These results were important for the pre- and postoperative evaluation and re-evaluation of children with epilepsy requiring special education and related services.
