Memory deficits in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures with a history of psychological trauma.

摘要

Objective. Studies have shown that memory functioning in psychogenic non-epileptic seizure (PNES) patients is similar to epileptic seizure (ES) patients. However, the majority of studies have not controlled for mood and effort when assessing memory, and few studies have investigated the cause of the memory deficits in PNES patients. This study examined whether PNES and ES patients exhibited similar memory functioning after controlling for mood and effort. It also explored whether a history of psychological trauma correlated with the memory deficits PNES patients. Method. PNES patients (N = 54) were compared to age-, gender-, and education-matched temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) control patients (N = 54) on measures of learning and memory. PNES patients with a history of psychological trauma (N = 27) were compared to PNES patients without a history of psychological trauma (N = 27) on measures of learning and memory. Results. PNES and TLE patients exhibited equivalent learning and memory performance. There was no difference in memory functioning between PNES patients with and without a history of psychological trauma. Both groups demonstrated impairment as compared to published norms on learning and recall. Conclusions. PNES patients, similar to TLE patients, exhibit memory impairment as compared to norms. Psychological trauma does not appear to account for the memory impairment in PNES patients.