LAUSR

To examine potential differences in language function among nonepileptic seizures (NES) and epilepsy patients. Data were acquired via IRB approved retrospective chart review. Subjects were 60 patients who completed an inpatient stay in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit of a southwestern hospital. 33 were diagnosed with NES, 13 were diagnosed with epilepsy originating in right hemisphere (ER), and 14 were diagnosed with epilepsy originating in the left hemisphere (EL). Patients were 65.9 % female, with a mean age of 40.5 (SD = 13.7). As part of a standard inpatient neuropsychological test battery, participants completed language tests that consisted of verbal fluency (FAS and Animals), Boston Naming Test, Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR), and Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-Second Edition (WASI-2) Similarities and Vocabulary subtests. ANOVA testing revealed significant between group differences in scores on the Animals verbal fluency test (F = 7.72, p = .008 for linear trend). Other measures did not achieve significance. NES participants had the highest Animal fluency scores (mean T = 49.28), followed by ER (47.73) then EL patients (43.27). WTAR score did not moderate this effect. Gender did moderate the effect, with male ER and EL subjects demonstrating lower Animal naming scores than their female counterparts (p = .037). Animal naming was the only language-based variable found to differ in this sample of NES and epilepsy patients. Those with EL had the lowest scores on this measure, consistent with prior research that has found language deficits in this population.