Epilepsy and Memory

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.

Adam trained in Medicine at Oxford University Medical School, after a first degree in Philosophy and Psychology, and in Neurology in Oxford, at The National Hospital for Neurology in Queen Square, London, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and The Norfolk and Norwich Hospital. He moved to Edinburgh in 1996, as a Consultant and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. Between February 2003 and August 2004 he was supported by a Health Foundation Mid-Career Award with the aim of 'building bridges between neurology, psychology and psychiatry'. Adam's specialised clinical work is in cognitive and behavioural neurology, including neurological disorders of sleep. His research interests include amnesia associated with epilepsy, disorders of visual imagery and the neuropsychiatric consequences of cerebellar disease. Adam has an active background interest in the science and philosophy of consciousness, publishing a wide-ranging review of the field in Brain (2001;124:1263-1289).

Narinder trained as a neuropsychologist in Belfast, Boston and London. He was Head of Neuropsychology at the Wessex Neurological Centre, Southampton for 23 years, and then Head of Neuropsychology at Addenbrooke's Hospital for 7 years.

Marilyn earned a BA in psychology at the University of California in 1970, followed by an MA in Physiological Psychology at McGill University in 1971 and a PhD at McGill in 1975. Her specialty in graduate school was in neuropsychology, which I have practiced in clinical work and in research and teaching throughout my career. She is currently Professor in McGill's Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, with an associate appointment in the Psychology Department. Her work has focused in part on various aspects of cognition, especially learning and memory, approached via functional neuroimaging and studies of patients with brain lesions. Marilyn also has developed a number of neuropsychological tests, several of which have been adopted by other neuropsychologists around the world.