Central Auditory Function in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Abstract number :
3.097
Submission category :
Year :
2001
Submission ID :
3094
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/1/2001 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Dec 1, 2001, 06:00 AM
Authors :
A.C. Grant, M.D., Ph.D., Neurology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA; S. Fujikawa, Ph.D., Audiology, University of California, Irvine, Orange, CA; F-G. Zeng, Ph.D., Otolaryngology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA; L.D. Nelson, Ph.
RATIONALE: There is increasing evidence that the inter-ictal state is associated with cognitive dysfunction in people with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). Tests of brain function typically emphasize language and memory. Little is known about central auditory function in people with medically intractable TLE.
METHODS: Performance of subjects with medically intractable TLE was compared to that of normal controls on a variety of auditory tasks. Pure tone audiometry was used to assess peripheral hearing. Central auditory function was assessed with an auditory test battery. Brief tone frequency discrimination (BTD) was performed with 10msec and 100msec duration tones. The Staggerred Spondaic Word test (SSW) and the SCAN-A were also administered.
RESULTS: There were no significant differences in peripheral hearing between the groups. None of the subjects with epilepsy noted difficulty in daily communication. However, subjects with medically intractable TLE performed significantly worse than controls on the BTD task at 10msec but not at 100msec. They also were substantially impaired on the SCAN-A and SSW.
CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with medically intractable TLE may have impaired central auditory function in the interictal state. This dysfunction is not evident until redundancy, present in normal communication, is reduced. These data support the notion that a single seizure focus may impair interictal cortical function, specifically auditory perception. These psychoacoustic tests may aid in the assessing changes in cognitive function after surgical treatment of medically intractable TLE.
Support: UCI College of Medicine Committee on Research