Cognition and brain development in children with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes.

Objective: Benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS), the most common focal childhood epilepsy, is associated with subtle abnormalities in cognition and possible developmental alterations in brain structure when compared to healthy participants, as indicated by previous cross-sectional studies. To examine the natural history of BECTS, we investigated cognition, cortical thickness, and subcortical volumes in children with new/recent onset BECTS and healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Participants were 8-15 years of age, including 24 children with new-onset BECTS and 41 age- and gender-matched HC.