The Johns Hopkins Epilepsy Center

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Neuropsychological testing usually consists of a battery of psychological tests which are designed to quantitatively measure a patient's cognitive abilities as they relate to the normal or abnormal functioning of different brain structures. For example, impaired memory may indicate an abnormality in the function of a part of the brain called the temporal lobe.

Patients with epilepsy occasionally suffer from memory problems or other cognitive difficulties, such as with the ability to come up with the correct word to use in a conversation. These problems may result from repeated seizures or from a brain disease which is causing the patient's seizures. Under these circumstances patients may benefit from a quantitative assessment of their cognitive abilities in order to gain insight into the severity and perhaps the cause of their seizures.

In the special circumstance in which a patient is being evaluated for surgical treatment of their epilepsy, neuropsychological testing may provide information about the parts of the brain from which the patient's seizures are being generated. Since recurrent seizures over long periods of time may interfere with brain function, neuropsychological testing is used to detect which parts of the brain are not functioning normally, in order to locate the origin of the patient's seizures within the brain. This information is then used in conjunction with other tests to decide what parts of the brain should be removed to prevent further seizures.