Epilepsy is the most common potentially serious disorder of the brain, and these patients often suffer from memory problems. There are a number of reasons for this: seizures can directly affect the brain in ways that disturb memory; epilepsy often results from trouble in brain regions closely linked to memory; the treatment of epilepsy can affect memory; epilepsy can cause psychological problems, like depression, which interfere with memory. The study of epilepsy and the study of human memoryare interwoven.
Epilepsy and Memory comprehensively reviews all aspects of the relationship between this common and potentially serious neurological disorder and memory, one of the core functions of the human mind. The authors, acknowledged experts in their fields, review the history of the subject, the clinical features of memory disorder in epilepsy, neuropsychological, neuroradiological, neuropathological and electrophysiological findings, the roles of anticonvulsant side effects and psychiatric disorder, and the scope for memory support and rehabilitation. The study of patients with epilepsy has revealed much about the workings of memory, yet there has been no recent review of this fertile field of research. This book fills this gap and is a valuable new addition to the brain sciences literature. It will be of wide interest to clinicians and basic researchers in the brain sciences.