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Associations Between Attention Regulation, Working Memory, and Academic Skills Among Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy

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Abstract

Objectives

Deficits in working memory (WM), processing speed (PS), attention, and executive functioning (EF) are commonly observed among children with epilepsy (CE), which may contribute to the elevated rate of academic underachievement. The goal of this study was to examine the associations between functions associated with frontal-subcortical circuitry, including attention, WM, PS, and EF with academic skills, after accounting for intellectual functioning and seizure factors among CE.

Methods

Retrospective review of medical records was conducted to obtain seizure history (history of status epilepticus, age of onset, seizure frequency, months seizure free by cognitive testing) and antiepileptic drug (AED) use of 46 pediatric patients (26F, Mage = 12.34 years; SD = 3.08), who were diagnosed with epilepsy. Patients were administered a neurocognitive test battery to assess for overall intellectual functioning, WM, PS, EF, and academic skills (word reading, math calculation, spelling). Caregivers completed the Child Behavior Checklist to assess for overall attention problems.

Results

Among seizure factors, the number of high- and lower-cognitive-risk AEDs prescribed was associated with different academic skills. Despite controlling for intellectual functioning and the high- and lower-cognitive-risk AED use, WM was positively associated with spelling achievement, and attention problems were negatively associated with academic skills. In contrast, EF and PS were not significant correlates when AEDs and intellectual functioning were controlled.

Conclusions

WM and attention functioning are potential areas to target in early interventions and educational planning to reduce risks of academic underachievement associated with CE. Types of AEDs prescribed should also be considered in academic accommodations given potential effects on cognitive functioning.

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Acknowledgments

We thank our undergraduate research assistants, Rasheed Abdullah and William Olvera, for their time and assistance in data entry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuropsychology Section in Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, 2101 Commonwealth Blvd. Suite C, Ann Arbor, MI, 55455, USA

    Rowena Ng & Elise K. Hodges

Authors
  1. Rowena Ng
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  2. Elise K. Hodges
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Contributions

RN and EKH: designed and executed the study, collected and analyzed data, and wrote and edited the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rowena Ng.

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The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethics

This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Informed Consent

The institutional review board of the University of Michigan approved this study with a waiver of informed consent.

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Ng, R., Hodges, E.K. Associations Between Attention Regulation, Working Memory, and Academic Skills Among Pediatric Patients with Epilepsy. Adv Neurodev Disord 4, 59–66 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-019-00137-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-019-00137-7

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