Verbal cognition and attention deficits do not explain the verbal memory decline associated with pharmacoresistant partial epilepsy

The aim of this study was to explore whether change in verbal memory with time in patients with epilepsy is influenced by performance on tasks assessing verbal cognition or attention/processing speed. Thirty-six patients and twenty-five healthy controls were tested twice with median retest intervals of 4.8 and 3.1 years, respectively. Aspects of verbal memory, verbal cognition, and attention/processing speed were assessed. Decline in one verbal memory variable (Cronholm–Molander Memory Test Paired Associates—Delayed Recall) was the strongest correlate of epilepsy. The second strongest correlate was a decrease in one attention/processing speed variable (Digit Symbol). The relationship between decline in verbal memory and epilepsy was not influenced by the decline in attention/processing speed, and the results did not support the notion that limited mental reserves as reflected in impaired verbal cognition or attention/processing speed can explain the relationship between verbal memory and epilepsy.