Memory deficits in children

This program explored the facets of memory deficits that children experience during their developmental years. In this project, Dr Michael Gascoigne and colleagues focussed on children with idiopathic epilepsy (Gascoigne, Smith, Barton, Webster, Gill, & Lah, 2014). They demonstrated that children with temporal lobe epilepsy experience disturbance of memory that is not captured by standard memory tests. Indeed, the research showed that these children have difficulty consolidating new memories over long periods of time (hours, days, weeks). This memory perturbation has considerable implications for the development of cognitive functions and the acquisition of knowledge during childhood and impact on school, and academic performance. Subsequent research demonstrated that the severity of these deficits was also related to other cognitive processes such as working memory and attention capacity. These findings also have implications regarding teaching and learning strategies for children with epilepsy.