Factorial validity of a neuropsychological test battery and its ability to discern temporal lobe epilepsy from frontal lobe epilepsy – A retrospective study

Abstract

Firstly, to evaluate the validity of a neuropsychological test battery in epilepsy patients, i.e. whether its tests sufficiently allow the assessment of the required cognitive domains in this specific group. Secondly, to examine its ability to differentiate between cognitive profiles of different subgroups of focal epilepsy. Methods: The test battery suggested by the German ILAE Chapter was performed on 207 epilepsy patients, and its factor structure was investigated by principal component analysis (PCA). To further examine its accuracy in two matched subgroups of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE, n = 35) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE, n = 35), a discriminant function analysis (DFA) was used.

Assessing Cognitive Change and Quality of Life 12 Months After Epilepsy Surgery—Development and Application of Reliable Change Indices and Standardized Regression-Based Change Norms for a Neuropsychological Test Battery in the German Language

“…This finding not only decreases the interpretability of the corresponding RCIs and SRB change norms, but also raises the question of whether these psychometric tests are at all suitable to be included in the standard neuropsychological test battery used in many German-speaking epilepsy centers. In line with that, previous studies examining the appropriateness of the applied measures (Vogt et al, 2017;Conradi et al, 2020) came to the conclusion that the selection of tests assessing non-verbal learning and memory functions requires further improvement.…”

“…The primary objective of this study was to develop empirical measures necessary for the objective determination of neuropsychological change in a comprehensive test battery in the German language. Because this test battery is recommended by the German ILAE Chapter and the Austrian, German and Swiss Working Group on Presurgical Epilepsy Diagnosis and Epilepsy Surgery (Brückner, 2012;Rosenow et al, 2016) and is used as a standard assessment protocol in many German-speaking epilepsy centers (Conradi et al, 2020), developing empirical measures for this test battery has many advantages. First, clinicians could use them to objectively evaluate postsurgical cognitive and behavioral change in patients and to individually monitor their psychosocial situations after epilepsy surgery.…”

“…The neuropsychological test battery recommended by the German ILAE Chapter and the Austrian, German and Swiss Working Group on Presurgical Epilepsy Diagnosis and Epilepsy Surgery (Brückner, 2012;Rosenow et al, 2016) was administered at the pre-and postsurgical assessments, consisting of the following standardized psychometric tests, as described elsewhere (Conradi et al, 2020): (1) To evaluate attentional functions, the subtest Divided Attention of the computerized "Testbatterie zur Aufmerksamkeitsprüfung" (TAP) (Zimmermann and Fimm, 2007) was applied. (2) For the assessment of verbal learning and memory functions, the "Verbaler Lern-und Merkfähigkeitstest" (VLMT) (Helmstaedter et al, 2001) was used.…”

Complex executive functions assessed by the trail making test (TMT) part B improve more than those assessed by the TMT part A or digit span backward task during vagus nerve stimulation in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy

“…Epilepsy type is one of the main static factors influencing the cognitive functioning of epilepsy patients ( 34 ). In our study, patients with TLE and FLE had similar improvements in the three tests, and these changes were also concordant with the whole study group, which is in contrast with some previous studies reporting differences in cognitive test results between TLE and FLE patients ( 35 ). Conversely, patients with other types of epilepsy did not improve during follow-up.…”

Early Epilepsy Surgery in Benign Cerebral Tumors: Avoid Your ‘Low-Grade’ Becoming a ‘Long-Term’ Epilepsy-Associated Tumor

“…Histopathological reviews of resected brain tissues were performed at the local Department of Neuropathology (Edinger Institute), and the diagnoses in two patients were independently confirmed by two German reference centers. Neuropsychological test bat-teries assessing the relevant cognitive domains (i.e., attentional functions, verbal learning and memory, nonverbal learning and memory, and executive functions) were performed in both children and adult patients [ 18 , 19 ], and relevant cognitive deficits were defined as z -value ≤ 1.0. Additionally, two self-report questionnaires for assessing symptoms of depression (Beck Depression Inventory-II [BDI-II]) [ 20 ] and quality of life (Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 [QOLIE-31]) [ 21 ] were performed where applicable.…”