The comparison of episodic and semantic memory in patients with and without Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Patients suffering epilepsy are at risk of cognitive disorder and behavioral abnormality. The purpose of the study is to compare episodic and semantic memory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and non-patients.

This was a causal-comparative research. The statistical sample was patients with epilepsy of Iranian Epilepsy Center in Tehran from whom 20 patients with epilepsy were selected as the sample and were matched with 20 non-patients in term of demographic variables of age and education. The samples were selected by available sampling. Research tools for episodic memory were recalling the item, images source and word test and for semantic memory were classified categories and fluid words. Data were analyzed by t-test of independent group and multivariate analysis of variance.

T-test and average scores of episodic and semantic memory showed significant difference (p<0.01, t38=6.22, x: 95/61; p<0.01, t38=3.61, x: 271/55) in the function of the two memories in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and non-patients.

The results show that hippocampus damage and lateral neocortex in patients suffering temporal lobe epilepsy has a fundamental role in semantic and episodic memory disorder, moreover, the episodic and semantic memory function in patients was lower than non-patients.