Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 26, 2025
Author Spotlight: Advancing Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery in Children Through Novel Biomarkers and Enhanced Localization
Published on: September 20, 2024
Sense of control, selective attention and cognitive inhibition in pediatric functional seizures: A prospective
Lindsay Stager1, Skylar Morriss1, Lauren McKibben2
1Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, United States.
Insights
Children with functional seizures (FS) show impaired selective attention and a reduced sense of control compared to controls. These cognitive factors, along with premonitory symptoms, may offer new avenues for treating pediatric FS.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pediatric Neurology
- Behavioral Psychology
Background:
- Pediatric functional seizures (FS) lack established laboratory-based behavioral markers, hindering treatment development.
- Understanding cognitive and perceptual factors in pediatric FS is crucial for targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate selective attention, cognitive inhibition, and sense of control in children with FS using experimental behavioral methods.
- To identify potential novel treatment targets for pediatric functional seizures.
Main Methods:
- Matched case-control study comparing 26 children with FS (ages 13-18) to 26 matched controls (MCs).
- Utilized a modified Stroop task to assess selective attention and cognitive inhibition.
- Employed the magic and turbulence task to evaluate sense of control.
- Assessed premonitory symptoms in children with FS.
Main Results:
- Children with FS exhibited slower reaction times on the Stroop task for seizure-related words, indicating poorer selective attention and cognitive inhibition.
- Significantly lower sense of control was observed in children with FS during the turbulence and magic conditions of the magic and turbulence task.
- Ninety-eight percent of children with FS reported experiencing premonitory symptoms.
Conclusions:
- Children with FS demonstrate deficits in selective attention, cognitive inhibition, and sense of control.
- Premonitory symptoms are highly prevalent in pediatric functional seizures.
- Sense of control, selective attention, and cognitive inhibition represent promising targets for future therapeutic interventions in pediatric FS.
Purpose:
To date, laboratory-based experimental behavioral methods have not been used to identify factors associated with pediatric functional seizures (FS), leaving a critical gap for effective treatment development.
Methods:
Children ages 13-18 with video-EEG-confirmed FS were matched to controls (MCs) based on income, sex, race, and age. A modified Stroop task which included a condition requiring participants to report the ink colors in which seizure symptom words were written (e.g., "shaking" in blue) measured selective attention and cognitive inhibition through response time. The magic and turbulence task assessed sense of control in three conditions (magic, lag, turbulence). Children with FS were asked to report premonitory symptoms predicting FS.
Results:
Participants included 26 children with FS and 26 MCs (Meanage=15.2, 74% female, 59% white). On Stroop, children with FS had a slower reaction time (Mean=1193.83) than MCs (Mean=949.26, p = 0.022) for seizure symptom words. Children with FS had significantly poorer sense of control in the turbulence condition of the magic and turbulence task (Mean=-3.99, SD=8.83) than MCs (Mean=-11.51, SD=7.87; t(20)=-2.61, p =0.017). Children with FS (Mean=-1.80, SD=6.54) also had significantly poorer sense of control in the magic condition than MCs (Mean=-5.57, SD=6.01; p =0.028). Ninety-eight percent of patients endorsed premonitory symptoms.
Conclusion:
Compared with MCs, children with FS have (1) poorer selective attention and cognitive inhibition when presented with seizure-related information and (2) lower sense of control (i.e. poorer awareness that their control was manipulated). Premonitory symptoms were common. Sense of control, selective attention, and inhibition may be novel treatment targets for FS intervention.
More Related Videos
10:02Event Related Potentials ERPs and other EEG Based Methods for Extracting Biomarkers of Brain Dysfunction: Examples from Pediatric Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD
Published on: March 12, 2020
04:51Pupillary Response as Assessment of Effective Seizure Induction by Electroconvulsive Therapy
Published on: April 11, 2019
Related Concept Videos
01:13Seizures: Classification
Seizures are typically classified into two main categories: focal and generalized seizures.
Focal Seizures
Focal seizures originate from specific regions of the brain. These seizures are further sub-classified into two types:
01:24Epilepsy and Seizures: Overview
Various factors can trigger epilepsy, including genetic factors, brain damage, metabolic causes, and unknown etiology. Diagnosis of epilepsy involves electroencephalography (EEG), which...