Assessing Executive Function in Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Through a Game-Based Assessment Task

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Clinical Neurology

Background:

• Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is frequently associated with executive function (EF) impairments.
• There is a need for accessible and quantitative methods to assess EF deficits in TLE.
• Executive functions are crucial for daily living and are often compromised in neurological conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of a game-based executive function assessment tool (EFAT) in TLE patients.
• To compare EFAT performance between TLE patients and healthy controls (HCs).
• To determine if EFAT metrics correlate with traditional neuropsychological tests.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-two TLE patients and 29 HCs completed standardized tests (Stroop Color-Word Test, Trail Making Test) and the EFAT.
• Key EFAT metrics analyzed included touches, correct guesses, accuracy, and learning latency.
• Statistical analyses compared EFAT and traditional test performance between groups.

Main Results:

• TLE patients demonstrated significant EF deficits compared to HCs on TMT and SCWT.
• In the EFAT, TLE patients had more touches, fewer correct guesses, and lower accuracy.
• EFAT metrics showed significant correlations with TMT scores, indicating convergent validity.

Conclusions:

• The EFAT successfully identified executive deficits in TLE patients.
• The game-based tool provides an objective and engaging complementary method for EF assessment.
• Findings support the preliminary clinical applicability of the EFAT for TLE.