PSYC 311 Chapter Notes - Chapter Reading 21 - Post Midterm 2 - Milner and Intracarotid: Partial Seizure, Amobarbital, Brenda Milner

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 311
• Professor: Michalakis Petrides

Document Summary

Reading 21: psychological aspects of focal epilepsy and its neurosurgical. Few patients have shown any lasting post operative impairment of general intelligence as measured by standard tests. Many have shown slight but significant long term gains if their seizures have been brought under control. This indicates that an actively discharging lesion can interfere with the functions of other areas, so when that damaged cortex is excised, there is measurable improvement in overall intellectual efficiency. Epileptogenic lesions have both lateralizing and localizing significance. The pre-operative test profile may provide clues to areas of damage, not necessarily epileptogenic, that would not have been picked up by other means. Another explanation be that the site and extent of damage has not be adequately revealed by the. On this view, one would expect persistence of the deficits after operation and possibly continued seizure tendency.