Citation

Mitchell WG, Zhou Y, Chavez JM, Guzman BL. Pediatrics 1993; 91(1): 101-105.

Affiliation

Neurology Department, Children's Hospital, Los Angeles, CA 90054.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, American Academy of Pediatrics)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8416471

Abstract

Simple, choice, and complex reaction times, attention (variability of responses and omission errors), and impulsivity (commission and wrong-hand errors on choice and complex reaction time) were repeatedly measured in 111 epileptic children, aged 5 to 13 years, tested a total of 232 times. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were started, stopped, and adjusted throughout the study period, for a variety of clinical indications, and AED serum levels were monitored. The relationship of performance to AED serum level was examined. Overall the nonspecific effect of AEDs was minimal: higher total serum levels of AEDs correlated with more impulsive errors on complex reaction time testing only. In contrast, in 54 children receiving carbamazepine monotherapy, we found a dose-related beneficial effect upon reaction time, with higher serum levels associated with faster responses and fewer omission errors, particularly on complex reaction time. Phenobarbital caused minimal dose-related effects: only variability and impulsive errors increased with increasing serum levels, and only on one segment of the test (73 subjects).

Language: en