Impulsivity and control of inhibition in Benign Focal Childhood Epilepsy (BFCE)

Childhood epilepsy represents abnormal brain functioning and may affect cog nitive functions that depend on the late development of the frontal lobes. This study addresses the possible consequences of benign epilepsy on fronta l functions, specifically action regulation and inhibition in the absence o f explicit frontal neurological signs. Thirteen children (8 males; 6-12 yea rs old) with benign epilepsy were matched to 13 controls. They performed ta sks designed to measure impulsivity and control of inhibition: CPT, Stop Si gnal Paradigm, Stroop test, and Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT). Chil dren with epilepsy made more errors on the MFFT (p < .02), made more errors in the interference condition on the Stroop test (p < .01), and had a long er response time to the Stop Signal (p < .05) than controls, with no differ ences on nonexecutive functions measures. Thus, children with benign epilep sy have a deficit on some measures of impulsivity and inhibition, which may reflect poor frontal lobe functioning, (C) 2000 Academic Press.