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Executive Functions in an Egyptian Sample of Adults with Generalized Epilepsy

Received: 23 December 2020    Accepted: 13 January 2021    Published: 22 January 2021
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Abstract

Epilepsy affects 65 million patients worldwide, Furthermore, Impacts of epilepsy are experienced across many aspects of an individual’s life, including mental and physical wellness, cognitive abilities, instructional performance, occupational roles, and social networks, Cognitive function is critical to the quality of life of patients with epilepsy, so this study considered executive functions in epilepsy patients. Epilepsy syndromes are divided into focal and generalized types, which is dependent on whether seizures emerge from a localized brain area or display a widespread involvement of both hemispheres from the outset. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the executive functions (EFs) (planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) in adults with generalized epilepsy. Materials and methods: A total of 25 adults aged 18 to 44 years with generalized epilepsy were recruited from the Epilepsy outpatient clinic of the Department of Neurology, Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital in Cairo. A similar amount of age- and sex-matched healthy volunteer’s controls (numbered 32) were included as a control group. The participants completed subtests from the Arabic version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults (Fourth Edition) including Digit Span, Arithmetic, Letter-Number Sequencing, and Block Design, as well as the Stroop Color-Word Test as a neuropsychological test. Results: Compared to the Control group Adults with generalized epilepsy exhibited poor performance in EFs - planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Conclusion: Adults with generalized epilepsy had impairment in planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory which may affect their Quality of life.

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 10, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12
Page(s) 10-15
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Epilepsy, Generalized Epilepsy, Executive Functions, Egypt

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Heba Samir Sherif, Fouad Abulmakarim, Nirmeen Adel Kishk. (2021). Executive Functions in an Egyptian Sample of Adults with Generalized Epilepsy. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 10(1), 10-15. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12

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    ACS Style

    Heba Samir Sherif; Fouad Abulmakarim; Nirmeen Adel Kishk. Executive Functions in an Egyptian Sample of Adults with Generalized Epilepsy. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2021, 10(1), 10-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12

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    AMA Style

    Heba Samir Sherif, Fouad Abulmakarim, Nirmeen Adel Kishk. Executive Functions in an Egyptian Sample of Adults with Generalized Epilepsy. Am J Appl Psychol. 2021;10(1):10-15. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12,
      author = {Heba Samir Sherif and Fouad Abulmakarim and Nirmeen Adel Kishk},
      title = {Executive Functions in an Egyptian Sample of Adults with Generalized Epilepsy},
      journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
      volume = {10},
      number = {1},
      pages = {10-15},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20211001.12},
      abstract = {Epilepsy affects 65 million patients worldwide, Furthermore, Impacts of epilepsy are experienced across many aspects of an individual’s life, including mental and physical wellness, cognitive abilities, instructional performance, occupational roles, and social networks, Cognitive function is critical to the quality of life of patients with epilepsy, so this study considered executive functions in epilepsy patients. Epilepsy syndromes are divided into focal and generalized types, which is dependent on whether seizures emerge from a localized brain area or display a widespread involvement of both hemispheres from the outset. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the executive functions (EFs) (planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) in adults with generalized epilepsy. Materials and methods: A total of 25 adults aged 18 to 44 years with generalized epilepsy were recruited from the Epilepsy outpatient clinic of the Department of Neurology, Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital in Cairo. A similar amount of age- and sex-matched healthy volunteer’s controls (numbered 32) were included as a control group. The participants completed subtests from the Arabic version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults (Fourth Edition) including Digit Span, Arithmetic, Letter-Number Sequencing, and Block Design, as well as the Stroop Color-Word Test as a neuropsychological test. Results: Compared to the Control group Adults with generalized epilepsy exhibited poor performance in EFs - planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Conclusion: Adults with generalized epilepsy had impairment in planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory which may affect their Quality of life.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Executive Functions in an Egyptian Sample of Adults with Generalized Epilepsy
    AU  - Heba Samir Sherif
    AU  - Fouad Abulmakarim
    AU  - Nirmeen Adel Kishk
    Y1  - 2021/01/22
    PY  - 2021
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12
    T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
    SP  - 10
    EP  - 15
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5672
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20211001.12
    AB  - Epilepsy affects 65 million patients worldwide, Furthermore, Impacts of epilepsy are experienced across many aspects of an individual’s life, including mental and physical wellness, cognitive abilities, instructional performance, occupational roles, and social networks, Cognitive function is critical to the quality of life of patients with epilepsy, so this study considered executive functions in epilepsy patients. Epilepsy syndromes are divided into focal and generalized types, which is dependent on whether seizures emerge from a localized brain area or display a widespread involvement of both hemispheres from the outset. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the executive functions (EFs) (planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory) in adults with generalized epilepsy. Materials and methods: A total of 25 adults aged 18 to 44 years with generalized epilepsy were recruited from the Epilepsy outpatient clinic of the Department of Neurology, Kasr Al-Ainy Hospital in Cairo. A similar amount of age- and sex-matched healthy volunteer’s controls (numbered 32) were included as a control group. The participants completed subtests from the Arabic version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Adults (Fourth Edition) including Digit Span, Arithmetic, Letter-Number Sequencing, and Block Design, as well as the Stroop Color-Word Test as a neuropsychological test. Results: Compared to the Control group Adults with generalized epilepsy exhibited poor performance in EFs - planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. Conclusion: Adults with generalized epilepsy had impairment in planning, cognitive flexibility, and working memory which may affect their Quality of life.
    VL  - 10
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • epartment of Psychology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

  • epartment of Psychology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

  • Department of Neurology, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

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