Effect of anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) in intelligence and facial recognition

Pages: 437-441
Renu P. John (Department of Psychology, University of Keral, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)
Sriduttb S. (Post Graduation Student of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)
Sanjeev. V. Thomas and Ashalatha Radhakrishnan (Neurology, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)
George C. Vilanilam, Ramsekhar Menon, and Mathew Abraham (Neurosurgery, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)
Immanuel Thomas (Department of Psychology, Kerala University, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala)

The aim of the study was to compare the preoperative and post-operative intelligence and facial recognition scores among epileptic patients who underwent Anterior Temporal Lobectomy (ATL) as part of their treatment. A total of 30 consecutive patients who met the specified criteria and followed up for a minimum period of three months with neuropsychological examinations were selected for the study after an informed consent. They were worked up in the epilepsy unit of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, and operated in the Department of Neurosurgery between June 2015 and October 2016. Four of these patients who had not cooperated in the follow up neuropsychological battery for various reasons were taken out from the statistical analysis. The remaining 26 patient’s (16 males & 10 females) has been selected for the study. The participants were divided into two groups according to the side of the brain involved. Fifteen patients (58%) underwent left ATL, and eleven patients (42%) underwent right ATL. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) was used to assess IQ and subtests of the Wechsler Memory Scale were used to assess facial recognition. The data obtained were analyzed using the paired t-test. The results showed that there was a significant improvement of IQ in left ATL patients, the right-sided patients shows a measurable improvements but that not reaches the statistical significance, while facial recognition improved significantly in both left and right ATL patients.