Sebastian Hoyer, Marie Dietz, Anna-Sophie Ambrosi-Schneider, Nadashree Krishnasamy, Claudia Buss, Yee Lee Shing, Angela M Kaindl

Background: Sleep is essential in the process of memory consolidation. Children and adolescents with epilepsy hold a significantly higher risk for memory impairment. Understanding the relationship between sleep and memory impairment in adolescents with epilepsy will help us to develop effective support services for this patient population. The present study provides a summary of the current research on the influence of epilepsy-related altered sleep patterns on memory consolidation in children and adolescents with epilepsy. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the influence of epilepsy-related altered sleep conditions in children and adolescents and their impact on memory performance.

Materials: A systematic review was conducted according to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses using the search terms „memory,“ „sleep,“ „epilepsy,“ „children,“ and „adolescents.“ A total of 4 studies met the inclusion criteria. The review focused on the association of sleep disorders and memory performance in children and adolescents aged up to 21 years without psychiatric comorbidities.

Results: The reviewed studies highlight a higher risk of sleep disturbance and lower sleep quality in children with epilepsy in comparison to control groups. Group differences in memory consolidation were found before, but not after one night of sleep. Three studies reported a significant association between sleep and memory performance. Two studies demonstrated an association between nocturnal interictal epileptiform discharges and memory performance in adolescents.

Conclusion: Children and adolescents with epilepsy have a higher risk of sleep and memory disorders. Nocturnal interictal epileptiform discharges have been shown to interfere with memory consolidation. Conclusions on underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Further case-control studies addressing sleep and its influence on memory problems in pediatric epilepsy patients are needed.

Pediatr Neurol. 158:66-70 (2024)