Abstracts

Lateralization of temporal lobe epilepsy can be difficult. The present study was aimed at investigating qualitative differences in recall performances of patients diagnosed with right versus left temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and to determine whether or not qualitative analysis of errors suggest laterality of temporal lobe dysfunction. Data were prospectively collected from patients with TLE undergoing neuropsychological evaluation for anterior temporal lobectomy at the University of South Florida - Tampa General Hospital Comprehensive Epilepsy Program. The Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT) was administered as part of the preoperative neuropsychological assessment. The RCFT stimulus card was presented and subjects were instructed to copy the figure using the administration instructions from the RCFT professional manual. Delayed recall performances for right and left TLE were compared. In this preliminary analysis, we analyzed data from 10 patients with TLE, 6 right and 4 left. The table shows the number and distribution of errors in the two groups. The left TLE group made 2 or 3 errors, whereas the right TLE made 0 or 1.[table1] The present findings support the use of the Loring qualitative scoring approach to differentiate between right and left TLE patients with the RCFT delayed recall performances.

Loring, D.W., Lee, G.P., [amp] Meador, K.J. (1988). Revising the Rey-Osterreith: Rating right hemisphere recall. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 239-247.