Meekes JHA

Name
Joost Meekes
Department Neurology and neurosurgery
Section Brain Function and plasticity

Function
PhD-student
E-mail: j.meekes@umcutrecht.nl
Tel +31 88-7554592

Supervisor
Prof. Dr O. van Nieuwenhuizen

Title research
Development and recovery of memory and learning after epilepsy surgery in children

Summary research
Background of the study: Memory and learning are central to cognitive development and crucial to education and skill acquisition. However, despite their developmental importance, the effects of epilepsy surgery on these functions are still to a large extent terra incognita. Previous research has suffered from methodological limitations, i.e., a scarcity of valid tests for probing these functions especially in the pre-adolescent population. In addition, the cerebral bases of memory and learning in paediatric epilepsy surgery have received little attention. The plasticity of the networks supporting these functions remains virtually unprobed. However, understanding plasticity contributes to improved selection of surgical candidates, specification of prognosis and counseling tailored to future development.
Objective of the study:
1) To establish the development of memory and learning after epilepsy surgery in comparison to a pre-surgical baseline, and to assess this in the framework of normal development. 2) To investigate whether and in what way this functional change can be understood from a change in the structural or spatial representation as derived from functional MRI.
Study design:
Prospective longitudinal observational controlled study.
Study population:Patients:
- Epilepsy surgery patients aged 0 up to and including 17 years
Control children:
- Normally developing children aged 0-4 years
- Children receiving normal education, aged 4 up to and including 17 years
Primary study parameters/outcome of the study: Memory and learning function in patients, both absolute and relative to controls. In addition, differences in activation of brain areas between patients and controls, as well as changes between pre-surgical and post-surgical assessment are the main parameters for the fMRI study.