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CC BY 4.0 · Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2025; 83(02): s00451804923
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1804923
Original Article

Autobiographical memory impairment in genetic generalized epilepsies: neurocognitive and pathophysiological determinants

Panayiotis Patrikelis 
1   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Psychology, Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Eleni Loukopoulou 
1   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Psychology, Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Elvira Masoura 
1   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Psychology, Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Vasiliki Folia 
1   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Psychology, Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Grigoris Kiosseoglou 
1   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Psychology, Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Lambros Messinis 
1   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Psychology, Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neuroscience, Thessaloniki, Greece.
2   University Hospital of Patras, School of Medicine, Neuropsychology Section, Department of Psychiatry, Patras, Greece.
,
Sonia Malefaki 
4   Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, Dipartimento di Tecnologie, Comunicazione e Società, Roma, Italy.
,
Giuliana Lucci 
5   Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Medicine, American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) University Hospital, First Department of Neurology, Thessaloniki, Greece.
,
Vasileios Kimiskidis 
4   Università degli Studi Guglielmo Marconi, Dipartimento di Tecnologie, Comunicazione e Società, Roma, Italy.
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Abstract

Background

The neuropsychological breakdowns of autobiographical memory (AM) in adults suffering from genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) are far from being understood and largely neglected.

Objective

We aimed at identifying AM impairments in GGE by analyzing neurocognitive deficits in illness-related variables possibly affecting AM.

Methods

Patients with GGE were compared to healthy controls (HCs), through semistructured interviews on AM, as well as neuropsychological measures to identify potential determinants of AM impairment.

Results

A single GGE group was formed by including patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE), and epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures alone (EGTCA). Both GGE patients and HCs were tested for differential impairments in autobiographical episodic memory (AEM) and/or autobiographical semantic memory (ASEM), as well as other episodic- and/or semantic-memory and executive-function domains.

Conclusion

The GGE patients exhibited overall impairment in autobiographical episodic and semantic information retrieval compared to HCs, both regarding childhood and the recent past. Furthermore, GGE patients demonstrated significantly poorer performance in immediate and delayed episodic recall, visuospatial working memory, visuoperceptual organization, face recognition memory, and verbal-executive functions compared to HCs. A distinct visuoperceptual involvement in retrieving childhood autobiographical episodic and semantic information has emerged, suggesting a potential connection between the latter AM systems and visual cognition.

Keywords

Seizures - Memory, Episodic - Neuropsychology - Spatial Processing

Authors' Contributions

PP, EL, EM, and VK: conceptualization; GK and SM: addressed the epistemological issues of the manuscript; and LM, VF, and GL: bibliographic documentation. All authors contributed to the final manuscript.


Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of the present study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.


Editor-in-Chief: Hélio A. G. Teive.


Associate Editor: Lécio Figueira Pinto.




Publikationsverlauf

Eingereicht: 24. März 2024

Angenommen: 02. November 2024

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
25. März 2025

© 2025. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Bibliographical Record
Panayiotis Patrikelis, Eleni Loukopoulou, Elvira Masoura, Vasiliki Folia, Grigoris Kiosseoglou, Lambros Messinis, Sonia Malefaki, Giuliana Lucci, Vasileios Kimiskidis. Autobiographical memory impairment in genetic generalized epilepsies: neurocognitive and pathophysiological determinants. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2025; 83: s00451804923.
DOI: 10.1055/s-0045-1804923