Memory for faces in epileptic children before and after brain surgery

Abstract

Memory for pairs of unfamiliar children's faces was investigated in 29 children and adolescents suffering from left (LTLE) or right (RTLE) temporal-lobe epilepsy, before and after temporal-lobe surgery. Both immediate and delayed memory were tested. Before surgery, RTLE subjects performed worse than either LTLE subjects or normal children. After surgery, RTLE subjects improved significantly. Overall (after surgery), there was no significant LTLE-RTLE difference, but on delayed memory, the RTLE group was worse than the LTLE group. The results suggest specialization for facial memory in the right hemisphere of young patients, as in adults, despite early brain damage.