Can epilepsy seizures cause memory loss?
Any type of epileptic seizure could potentially affect your memory, either during or after a seizure. If you have lots of seizures, memory problems might happen more often. Some people have generalised seizures that affect all of the brain.
What do seizures do to memory?
During a seizure: loss of consciousness can stop the brain from recording and storing memories. After a seizure: confusion can stop memory from working correctly. Between seizures: Some people with epilepsy may have unusual electrical activity in the brain between seizures. This can affect attention and memory function.
What are the long term effects of epilepsy?
Long lasting seizures, or status epilepticus, may also cause brain damage or death. People with epilepsy are eight times more likely than people without it to experience certain other chronic conditions, including dementia, migraine, heart disease, and depression.
Can seizures cause severe memory loss?
Over time, repeated temporal lobe seizures can cause the part of the brain that’s responsible for learning and memory (hippocampus) to shrink. Brain cell loss in this area may cause memory problems.
Does epilepsy damage your brain?
People with status epilepticus have an increased risk of permanent brain damage and death. Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). People with epilepsy also have a small risk of sudden unexpected death. The cause is unknown, but some research shows it may occur due to heart or respiratory conditions.
Does epilepsy cause dementia?
People with epilepsy develop Alzheimer’s disease at a rate 6 times higher than the non-epileptic population, and seizures can damage the memory centers of the brain and contribute to dementia.
Does epilepsy worsen with age?
The incidence of any type of seizure increases substantially over the age of 60, commonly due to other neurological conditions such as dementia or stroke.
Does epilepsy cause long term memory loss?
In temporal lobe epilepsy, long-term memory disturbance starts early in life mainly affecting declarative memory. Primary impairment of episodic memory often results in reduced semantic and autobiographic memory.
Does epilepsy medication improve memory?
Many people worry that the medication they take for their epilepsy causes poor memory. The side effects of some medication (for example poor concentration and drowsiness) can affect your memory. However, your memory will be improved if the drugs stop or lower the number of seizures you have.
How can I improve my memory with epilepsy?
There are two general approaches:
- An indirect approach – improving memory by focusing on other factors such as seizure control.
- A direct approach – treating your memory either with medication or with strategies to change behaviors and how people remember things.