Deficits in neuropsychological functioning and psychopathology in persons with epilepsy: a rejected hypothesis revisited.

Previous investigations have failed to detect a relationship between the adequacy/inadequacy of neuropsychological functioning and psychopathology in persons with epilepsy. It is argued that these results were obtained because of the manner in which the measures of psychopathology, the MMPI, were analyzed. The MMPI data from two recent neuropsychological investigations of epilepsy were analyzed using a technique which has been found to be quite sensitive to various psychopathological categories, i.e., Goldberg's Rules. Comparison of subjects varying in degree of neuropsychological impairment revealed increased psychopathology in the patient groups with more widespread cognitive deficits. It is concluded that there is a relationship between deficits in neuropsychological functioning and psychopathology in epilepsy. This relationship is related to the larger literature of epilepsy and psychopathology.