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Epilepsy affects 1-2 % of the population. For 30 % of these patients, their syndrome will be refractory to medical treatment. To improve our understanding and treatment of the epilepsies, we need to develop clinically relevant animal models. As temporal lobe epilepsy is often preceded by prolonged febrile seizures and in our population associated with a focal cortical dysplasia, we hypothesised that an underlying predisposing anatomical lesion would predispose individuals to develop prolonged febrile seizures and that temporal lobe epilepsy would later develop. As predicted, all the lesioned animals developed prolonged febrile seizures, while all other control groups only showed simple febrile seizures. After a latent period, 86 % of the animals who had experienced a prolonged seizure developed spontaneously recurrent limbic seizures. We now need to understand the anatomical and electrophysiological changes underlying this new epilepsy model to try and develop more effective treatments for the condition.

Les cardiopathies congénitales (CC) sont les malformations les plus fréquentes chez le nouveau-né. La littérature des dernières décennies a mis en évidence des retards développementaux fréquents dans cette population, notamment sur le plan de la motricité, du fonctionnement intellectuel global, du langage, de la mémoire, de l’attention et des fonctions exécutives. Le présent article propose une revue de littérature concernant la physiopathologie de ces retards et les facteurs susceptibles d’en augmenter les risques. Les profils neuropsychologiques associés à la présence d’une CC, ainsi que leur impact sur les acquisitions scolaires, l’adaptation comportementale et la qualité de vie seront présentés., Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are the most common congenital anomalies in newborns. The literature of the last decades demonstrates that developmental delays are frequent in this population, especially in the areas of gross and fine motor skills, global intellectual functioning, language, memory, attention and executive abilities. This article offers a literature review covering the pathophysiology of these delays and their risk factors. Neuropsychological profiles associated with CHD and their impact on school achievement, behavioral adaptation and quality of life will be presented.