Spatial memory, the aspect of memory involving encoding and retrieval of information regarding one's environment and spatial orientation, is a complex biological function incorporating multiple neuronal networks. Hippocampus-dependent spatial memory is not innate and emerges during development in both humans and rodents. In children,…

One of the most common and serious co-morbidities in patients with epilepsy is cognitive impairment. While early-life seizures are considered a major cause for cognitive impairment, it is not known whether it is the seizures, the underlying neurological substrate or a combination that has the largest impact on eventual learning and memory. Teasing…

Children who have status epilepticus have continuous or rapidly repeating seizures that may be life-threatening and may cause life-long changes in brain and behavior. The extent to which status epilepticus causes deficits in auditory discrimination is unknown. A naturalistic auditory location discrimination method was used to evaluate this…

Both clinical and laboratory studies demonstrate that seizures early in life can result in permanent behavioral abnormalities and enhance epileptogenicity. Understanding the critical periods of vulnerability of the developing nervous system to seizure-induced changes may provide insights into parallel or divergent processes in the development of…