focal epilepsy (temporal lobe epilepsy, frontal lobe epilepsy) G40.2
Conditions
Interventions
Group 1: Patients with focal epilepsy (subgroups: temporal lobe epilepsy and frontal lobe epilepsy) carry out a series of experiments to assess social cognition, questionnaires, clinical interview (sc
Sponsors
Universitätsklinikum Freiburg
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: Patient group (TLE/FLE): Diagnosis of focal unilateral epilepsy (validated by EEG video monitoring or at least routine-EEG, MRT, semiology and neurological examination); verbal-crystallized intelligence: IQ = 85 Healthy control group: verbal-crystallized intelligence: IQ = 85
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Patient group (TLE/FLE): other relevant neurological disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Morbus Parkinson, dementia); psychotic or current severe affective disorder (according to the diagnostic interview); substance abuse; insufficient grasp of the German language Healthy control group: Epilepsy or other relevant neurological disorders (e.g., multiple sclerosis, Morbus Parkinson, dementia); substance abuse
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Static Eye Tracking Experiment: - emotion recognition (correct responses) of facial expressions (angry, fearful, happy, sad, disgusted, surprised plus neutral) - eye movement data: first fixation, proportional fixation count/duration per AOI (eyes and mouth region) Morphing: - emotion recognition (correct responses) of facial expressions (angry, fearful, happy, sad, disgusted, surprised plus neutral) in dynamic faces (facial expressions changing successively from neutral to full emotional expression) - reaction time (until emotion is recognized) Prosody: - emotion recognition in spoken sentences that are semantically neutral and that are presented in either an emotional (fearful, happy, sad, angry, disgusted) or neutral tone MASC: Theory of Mind (ToM) will be assessed with the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC). The movie consists of 45 sequences depicting a dinner party. After each sequence subjects are prompted to answer a question relating to the plot via multiple choice responses relating to the presumed mental states of one of the movie characters. There are 3 categories of erroneous responses: 1) undermentalizing: a) either a complete lack of ToM or b) insufficient recognition of mental states, 2) overmentalizing: excessive presumption of mental states. questionnaire scores: - perceived loneliness/social integration (UCLA-Loneliness Scale) - perceived or anticipated support from the social environment (Fragebogen zur sozialen Unterstützung) - size and structure of social network (Cohen Social Network Index) - Affective empathy (Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ)) - perceived stigma in epilepsy (Jacoby Stigma Scale) | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| cognitive skills: - Mehrfachwahl-Wortschatz-Intelligenztest (MWT-B): estimating verbal-crystallized intelligence via vocabulary test - fluid intelligence measured with a nonverbal task (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) Matrix Reasoning) - cognitive speed (A) and cognitive flexibility (B) measured with a paper-pencil task (Trail-Making Test (TMT) Versions A and B) - working memory measured with backward digit spans (WAIS-IV) - Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWA): Assessing semantic verbal fluency by naming animals in one minute Questionnaires: - depressive symptoms (Beck Depression-Inventory, 2nd edition (BDI-II), German version) - screening for generalized anxiety disorder (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7(GAD-7)) Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview: assessing main psychiatric disorders according to DSM-5 and ICD-10 | — |
Countries
Germany
Contacts
Public ContactBirgitta Metternich
Universitätsklinikum Freiburg
Outcome results
None listed