Dysfunction in the understanding of social signals has been reported in persons with epilepsy, which may partially explain lower levels of life satisfaction in this patient population. Extensive assessment is necessary, particularly when the mesial temporal lobe, responsible for emotion processing, is affected. The authors examined multiple levels of social perception in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE), including judgments of point-light motion displays of human communicative interactions (Communicative Interactions Database-5 Alternative Forced Choice format) and theory-of-mind processes evaluated using geometric shapes (Frith-Happé animations [FHA]). This case-control study included MTLE patients with anterior temporal lobectomies (ATL+) (N=19), MTLE patients without lobectomies (ATL-) (N=21), and healthy controls (HCs) (N=20). Both groups of MTLE patients were less efficient in recognizing goal-directed and mentalizing interactions of FHA compared with HC subjects. The ATL+ group attributed emotions to FHA less accurately than HC subjects. Both the ATL- and ATL+ groups classified individual point-light animations more often as communicative than the HC group. ATL+ patients were also less efficient in interpreting point-light animations in terms of individual actions than the HC group. The number of years of epilepsy duration was inversely correlated with recognition of FHA interactions. The mean number of seizures was inversely correlated with the interaction identification in point-light stimuli. Patients with MTLE, irrespective of surgical treatment, present impaired social perception in domains assessed with abstract moving shapes or nonabstract biological motion. This impairment may be the basis of problems faced by patients reporting difficulties in understanding the intentions and feelings of other individuals.

Prolactinomas (prolactin-secreting adenomas) are the most common type of hormone-secreting pituitary tumor. Mounting evidence indicates that excess prolactin impairs cognitive function, but specific assessments of attention in patients with prolactinomas are lacking. Case–control study gathered 54 participants—27 patients with prolactinoma and 27 healthy controls. Neuropsychological assessment included a comprehensive set of diagnostic methods for the evaluation of attention and working memory. Patients showed slower information processing, expressed as a longer working time on the d2 Test of Attention and Color Trails Test (CTT-2), and lower attention-switching shown in the CTT-2 and in two subtests of the Tests of Everyday Attention (Visual Elevator), and Telephone Search While Counting. Working memory disturbances were observed in Digit Span and Symbol Span tests. A level of prolactin correlated negatively with scores in some of the neuropsychological tests measuring attentional switching (Visual Elevator), spatial screening and working memory (CTT-2), spatial working memory (Symbol Span) and auditory-verbal working memory (Digit Span backwards). There were no significant correlations between cognitive performance and tumor size. In conclusion, patients with prolactinoma suffer from impaired cognitive functions, including attention and working memory. Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment should be a permanent element of the diagnostics of this group of patients.

Drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with a reduction in the quality of life of patients. The aim of this study was to compare the quality of life before and after the surgical treatment of epilepsy and to assess factors that may affect the well-being of patients after surgery. The study involved 168 patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy. All of them were examined twice: once before and again one year after surgery. Two questionnaires were used in the study: the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-Patient-Weighted and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and one that collected data on selected demographic and clinical variables. The results showed that patients scored significantly higher in quality of life and lower in depression and anxiety after surgery; however, this only applied to patients with a good outcome of treatment (Engel Class I and Class II). Patients with an unfavorable outcome of surgical treatment (Engel Class III and Class IV) achieved significantly worse results in all examined variables. Correlational analysis showed a relationship between select aspects of quality of life and the level of depression and anxiety, as well as the frequency of seizures and age at epilepsy onset. There was no significant relationship with age, sex, education, or number of prescribed antiepileptic drugs. The study confirms the significant relationship between the quality of life and the effectiveness of surgical treatment, indicating the relationship between patients’ well-being and selected clinical indicators.

Introduction: The supplementary motor area (SMA) is one of the more common locations where low-grade gliomas (LGG) are found. It is an area that, in addition to controlling movement, is also involved in a range of cognitive functions, including executive functions, but data on this topic is still scarce. The aim of this study was a comprehensive assessment of executive functions, as well as an evaluation of clinical variables that may influence the obtained results.Materials and methods: The study included 23 patients with LGG tumors located in the SMA and a control group of 57 healthy individuals. They were all tested using a set of neuropsychological tests: the Stroop Test, the Verbal Fluency Test, the Tower of London Test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.Results: The conducted analyses revealed the presence of significant differences between groups in terms of selected indicators of each test. Furthermore, the results of individual TOL and WCST indicators showed significant correlations with the tumor volume. The comparison of patients with tumors in the left and right hemispheres revealed differences solely in WCST performance, with those having left SMA damage performing worse. There were also differences in the performance of the WCST test to the disadvantage of patients who had epileptic seizures compared to those who did not. Moreover, patients with oligodendrogliomas scored lower than those with astrocytomas on some of the WCST indices.Conclusions: Patients with LGG tumors in the supplementary motor area present a wide range of executive dysfunctions, including planning, reasoning, inhibition, switching, and cognitive flexibility. Both the volume and type of tumor, the hemisphere in which it is located and the occurrence of epileptic seizures may be related to the results. Future studies with larger cohorts are needed to confirm these findings.

Objectives: The effects of brain tumors located in the supplementary motor area (SMA) have so far been described mainly in the context of motor and speech disorders. There are few studies that have considered other cognitive domains, so this study aimed to fill this gap by focusing on examining attention and working memory in a population of patients with gliomas in the SMA region. Methods: This study included 50 patients diagnosed with gliomas located in the SMA who have not yet had any treatment and 57 demographically matched healthy individuals. A set of neuropsychological tests was conducted to assess attention and working memory: Digit Span from WAIS-R, Visual Elevator from TEA, Verbal Fluency Test (switching condition), and Color Trails Test (CTT). Results: The analyses showed that patients scored lower in most of the evaluated tests and indicators, namely in Digit Span-forward (t = −2.05; p = 0.022), Digit Span-backward (t = −2.63; p = 0.005), CTT-2 (t = 4.24; p = 0.001), CTT-interference (t = 2.31; p = 0.012), Visual Elevator-time (t = 1.83; p = 0.035), Visual Elevator-accuracy (t = −2.42, p = 0.010), and Verbal Fluency-switching (t = −3.41; p = 0.001). A significant relationship was also demonstrated between the grade of tumor malignancy and the results achieved in some of the neuropsychological tests. The lateralization of the tumor, the size of the lesion, and the presence of epilepsy did not prove to be particularly significant. Conclusions: Due to the significant decline in cognitive performance in terms of attention and working memory, we believe that every patient with a tumor in the SMA should undergo a detailed neuropsychological examination, which will profile their functioning and help tailor the best possible psychological care.