Working memory is a multicomponent system that is supported by overlapping specialized networks in the brain. Baddeley’s working memory model includes four components: the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, the central executive, and episodic buffer. The aim of this review was to establish the gravity and pattern of working memory deficits in pediatric epilepsy. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guided electronic searches. Sixty-five studies were included in the review. Meta-analyses revealed significant impairments across each working memory component: phonological loop (g = 0.739), visuo-spatial sketchpad (g = 0.521), and central executive (g = 0.560) in children with epilepsy compared to controls. The episodic buffer was not examined. The pattern of impairments, however, differed according to the site and side of seizure focus. This suggests that working memory components are differentially vulnerable to the location of seizure focus in the developing brain.

工作记忆是一个多成分系统，由大脑中重叠的专门网络支持。Baddeley 的工作记忆模型包括四个组成部分：语音循环、视觉空间画板、中央执行器和情节缓冲区。本综述的目的是确定小儿癫痫工作记忆缺陷的严重程度和模式。系统评价和元分析的首选报告项目 (PRISMA) 声明指导了电子搜索。该评价纳入了 65 项研究。荟萃分析揭示了每个工作记忆成分的显着损害：语音回路 ( g = 0.739)、视觉空间画板 ( g = 0.521) 和中枢执行 ( g= 0.560) 在癫痫儿童中与对照组相比。不检查情节缓冲。然而，损伤模式因癫痫发作的部位和侧面而异。这表明工作记忆成分对发育中大脑中癫痫发作焦点位置的脆弱性不同。