NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL OUTCOME FOLLOWING ANTERIOR TEMPORAL LOBECTOMY IN PATIENTS WITH AND WITHOUT THE SYNDROME OF MESIAL TEMPORAL-LOBE EPILEPSY

The nature, pattern, and degree of neuropsychological change following anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) were examined as a function of the presence or absence of the syndrome of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy ( MTLE). Fifty-four patients exhibited the syndrome of MTLE, while 34 pa tients were without the syndrome (non-MTLE). The test-retest performan ce of a group of 40 epilepsy patients who did not undergo surgery was used to derive regression-based estimates of test-retest change. Overa ll, the MTLE roup did not show significant cognitive decline following ATL. In contrast, the left non-MTLE group showed significant declines on verbal memory, confrontation naming, and verbal conceptual ability . Further, verbal memory was the most substantial area of decline, and was independent of seizure outcome. Clinical and theoretical implicat ions of these findings are discussed.