Does refractory epilepsy affect a patient’s cognitive function and IQ?

  Cognitive function consists of multiple cognitive domains, including orientation, attention, memory, computation, analysis, synthesis, comprehension, judgment, structural ability, executive ability, etc. If a disorder occurs in one of these cognitive domains, it is called a disorder of that cognitive domain. For example, memory impairment, calculation impairment, orientation impairment, etc. If the impairment occurs for more than one cognitive domain, it is called cognitive dysfunction. IQ is the intelligence quotient, which is used to quantify the level of response intelligence. In a general sense, intelligence can be understood as the ability to apply knowledge, while cognition can be understood as the ability to acquire knowledge, and both can be considered the same in a lay context, similar to the difference between how much water a bottle can hold and how much water it holds.  Long-term, frequent, and uncontrollable epileptic discharges produce irreversible damage to neurons in the brain, and these damages affect various brain functions (sensory, motor) and higher functions (learning, memory, language, computation, etc.), which can significantly diminish the patient’s cognitive ability and IQ level.