Verbal memory in children with temporal lobe epilepsy: Exploring task-specificity.

RATIONALE:This study explored the applicability of the adult model of task-specificity of memory to children with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). METHOD:Retrospective clinical audit; 38 children and adolescents (6-16 years) with lesional TLE (n = 22 mesial; n = 16 lateral) treated at tertiary pediatric hospitals completed two types of verbal memory paradigms: arbitrary associative (Verbal Paired Associates - Hard Pairs) and semantically related (Verbal Paired Associates - Easy Pairs; Stories). RESULTS:Children with mesial TLE performed more poorly than their lateral TLE counterparts on both types of memory paradigms: arbitrary associative and semantically related (Stories only). Groups with left and right TLE performed comparably on all verbal memory measures. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings suggest that the adult model of task-specificity may not be completely applicable to children with TLE. Consideration of the developmental context is critical in research and clinical work with pediatric populations.