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Last Updated on February 3, 2023 by Neelam Singh
Yes. Epilepsy affects the intelligence quotient of a person.
Epilepsy can affect a person in many ways. It can hamper education, career, general health, mental health, and marriage, among other things. A study reported that children with epilepsy have an intelligence quotient (IQ) score of 10 points lower than their healthy, age-matched peers.
In an epileptic patient, a seizure can affect the functioning of the body, depending on the area of the brain affected. If seizures are generalized, they may affect several different functions. Seizures can also disrupt the communication between different regions of the brain, almost literally severing the connections between them.
The region of the brain where seizure activity starts may indicate which function(s) may be affected. Seizures can affect language if the left side of the brain is involved where the language centres are present. This does not result in an inability to speak or understand words. One can still perform these functions. The only deficit is usually in finding words, also called word retrieval. This occurs because seizures can damage the area of the brain where the word is stored and/or the communication lines that are required to find or retrieve the word.
Similarly, seizures in the frontal lobe can affect one’s ability to plan, organise and make decisions.
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