THE ROLE OF SLEEP IN WORD LEARNING IN A CASE REPORT OF REFRACTORY EPILEPSY

LEON CANDELA ; SAMMAN MARÍA; ODDO SILVIA; FORCATO CECILIA; HERRERO NEREA; KOCHEN SILVIA; SOLÍS PATRICIA; MOYANO MALEN; GIAGANTE BRENDA; KACZER LAURA

Congreso; XXXIV Reunión Anual SAN 2019; 2019

SAN

Patients suffering Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) often show deficits in consolidation of declarative memories. Interictal Epileptoform Discharges (IEDs) were proposed as a possible factor of cognitive impairment. It was previously shown using intracranial recordings that hippocampal IEDs damage memory consolidation but not its acquisition. Here, we analyze a case report exhibiting right hippocampal IEDs during sleep and we compared it to a group of TLE patients. All Participants learned a list of novel words before sleeping for 8 h while a polysomnography was performed. After being awaken the memory was tested. In contrast to our expectations, the case report showed better off-line consolidation for new words compared to the TLE group. Moreover, in the TLE group the power density in slow wave activity (slow oscillations: 0.5-1 Hz, delta: 1-4Hz and theta: 4-8Hz) in No-REM sleep positively correlated with memory performance. The results are discussed in terms of the Off-line Active System Consolidation Theory and the possible role of the left hippocampus on memory reactivation during sleep.