PATTERNS OF MEMORY DYSFUNCTION AMONG CHILDREN SURVIVING TEMPORAL-LOBETUMORS

We compared the cognitive functioning of seven children with left and seven children with right temporal lobe tumors one year or more follow ing completion of medical intervention (surgical resection + radiation therapy). No differences were found between the two groups with respe ct to verbal IQ, performance IQ, full scale IQ, verbal minus performan ce IQ, or verbal comprehension, perceptual organization, or freedom fr om distractability factor scores. After adjusting memory test results for variance attributable to general intelligence, three children with left and four children with right temporal tumors exhibited specific auditory-verbal memory dysfunction; five of these children had concurr ent visual-verbal memory dysfunction. Children receiving radiation the rapy to the tumor were at significantly greater risk for verbal memory problems. Reading and spelling achievement were significantly correla ted with verbal memory performance. Inconsistent association between c erebral hemisphere of tumor and type of cognitive deficit may be relat ed to the relatively slow progression of the tumor and regional interv entions such as radiation therapy. Nevertheless, the results of the pr esent report suggest that the majority of children diagnosed with temp oral lobe tumors are at increased risk for memory dysfunction and acad emic failure.