Emotion Processing in Patients with Early- and Late-Onset Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Objective: Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) can contribute to various emotional symptoms by damaging the temporal lobe. This study aimed at investigating emotion processing in patients with early- and late-onset TLE compared to a healthy group. Methods: In this causal-comparative study, 60 patients with diagnosed TLE were compared to 60 healthy controls to identify emotion processing styles. The data collection instruments were Baker’s Emotional Processing Scale and a clinical psychiatric interview based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5). Collected data were analyzed using multivariate ANOVA in SPSS V.1 9 software. Results: There was a significant difference in emotion processing components between the epileptic and non-epileptic groups (P<0.01). In addition, a significant difference was found in intrusion, lack of attunement and dissociation subscales of emotional processing between patients with early-onset and late-onset TLE. Conclusion: Emotion processing deficit was higher in patients with TLE than in non-epileptics. Regarding emotion processing subscales, there were more deficits in patients with early-onset TLE compared to late-onset TLE patients.