Brief amnestic effects of spike-wave discharges

Five children with diagnoses of generalized epilepsy were examined for the effect of spike-wave discharges upon the ability to recall a visual stimulus. Recall was impaired when the discharge succeeded the presentation of the stimulus by up to four seconds. Impairment of recall was found to be a function of both the time interval between presentation of the stimulus and the onset of the discharge and also of the length of the discharge itself.