Emotional Processing in Patients With Early- and Late-Onset Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) could cause various emotional symptoms due to the damages imposed on the temporal lobe. This study aimed at comparing emotional processing between patients with early- and late-onset TLE and a healthy group.

In a cross-sectional study, after a definitive diagnosis of TLE, 60 patients were compared with 60 healthy controls without any epilepsy to identify emotional-processing styles in them. The research instruments were the Emotional Processing Scale and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5)-based psychiatric interview. The obtained data were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance by SPSS.

The present study results suggested significant differences in emotional processing between the investigated epileptic and non-epileptic groups (P<0.01). Besides, emotional processing indicated significant differences in intrusion, the lack of attunement, and dissociation subscales between patients with early-onset TLE, compared to those with late-onset TLE.

The obtained data revealed more emotional processing dysfunction in patients affected by TLE, compared to the non-epileptics. Besides, in some subscales of emotional processing, there was more malfunctioning in the early-onset TLE group, compared to the late-onset TLE group.