When discussing learning, we sometimes refer to cognition, or one’s ability to think, learn and use information. Seizures can impact cognition, learning and behaviour in a variety of ways. What follows is a discussion of the important factors that play a role in learning, and some strategies to help people with epilepsy learn as well as they can.

Factors:

1. The cause.
For any given individual, the cause of epilepsy has the greatest influence on learning. The International League against Epilepsy (ILAE) describes three different causes of epilepsy and epileptic syndromes:

(i) Symptomatic
There is a known brain disorder or brain damage. For example, brain damage from meningitis, encephalitis, or severe head trauma, a disturbance of brain development, conditions such as tuberous sclerosis, Down Syndrome, Tay-Sach’s disease, etc.

(ii) Cryptogenic
Where one of the disorders listed above is suspected but not proven.

(iii) Idiopathic
There is no brain disturbance apart from the epilepsy itself.

The majority of people with epilepsy will have idiopathic epilepsy, involving no brain damage. Those who have symptomatic or cryptogenic epilepsy are very likely to have problems with learning and behaviour simply because these conditions are associated with more disturbance to the brain. On the other hand, those who have idiopathic epilepsy are very likely to have average to above-average learning ability.