Patterns of impaired social cognition in children and adolescents with epilepsy: The borders between different epilepsy phenotypes

Abstract

Over the past decade, a growing number of studies have shown that children and adolescents with focal and generalized epilepsies have marked impairments in social cognition, including deficits in facial emotion perception (FEP) and Theory of Mind (ToM). At present, it remains unclear whether FEP and ToM impairments are comparable in children with focal and generalized epilepsies or whether distinct syndrome-specific deficits have emerged. This question of whether unique or overlapping social cognitive profiles exist in epilepsy is of interest, given that the revised International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification guidelines propose that seizures arise from a diseased network (i.e., network account), rather than being confined to discrete regions near the site of seizure foci (i.e., localization account). The purpose of this review was as follows: (1) to summarize studies examining FEP and ToM in pediatric patients with epilepsy, (2) to examine epilepsy and psychosocial correlates of these difficulties, and (3) to determine whether patterns of sociocognitive impairment better support a localization or neural network account of epilepsy. Twelve studies were reviewed examining FEP (N = 5) and/or ToM (N = 8). Findings revealed significant FEP and ToM impairments across the studied subgroups with epilepsy, which did not differ between children with generalized and focal (localization-related) epilepsies nor among children with different subtypes of localization-related epilepsy. Similarly, other epilepsy variables (i.e., seizure frequency, side of seizure focus, number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) or surgical status) were not related to FEP or ToM, with the exception of younger age at seizure onset and longer duration of epilepsy. Several studies documented a significant relationship between impaired ToM and reduced social competence in pediatric patients with epilepsy, whereas evidence for a relationship between FEP and psychosocial functioning is currently weak. In conclusion, findings suggest that social cognitive impairments represent a shared feature of epilepsy in childhood. The results support a neural network account of epilepsy, in which a shared neural network of dysfunction may be underlying social cognitive deficits in this group. Further research is needed to examine the functional correlates of social cognitive impairments, as well as to evaluate screening tools and treatment methods to identify and address significant social and emotional difficulties in this patient group. This article is part of the Special Issue "Epilepsy and social cognition across the lifespan".

Keywords: Epilepsy; Facial emotional perception; Pediatric; Theory of Mind (ToM).