Abstracts

Rationale: In order to test for language and verbal memory in children, neuropsychological assessment, intracarotid sodium amytal testing (Wada test), or functional MRI or a combination thereof are done. In resource-limited centers or if the ability of the patients to participate in testing are limited, neuropsychological assessment may be the most viable option.  Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the neuropsychological assessment profile of patients below 18 years old pre- and post-epilepsy surgery. We identified 4 right-handed patients who underwent neuropsychological testing prior to surgeries involving the right hemisphere. We reviewed their verbal memory scores and visual memory scores using the California Verbal Learning Test- Children's Version (CVLT-C) and Children's Memory Scale (CMS), respectively.  Results: We found that there was no change in the verbal memory before and after surgery. There was however an improvement in the visual memory as seen in the CMS Dot Locations Learning and CMS Dot Locations Long Delay scores.  Conclusions: Memory decline post-surgery is often attributed to resection of a functional hippocampus in the language-dominant temporal lobe. In our patients, improvement in visual memory post-surgery was seen in the resection involving the non-language dominant hemisphere. Funding: No funding