Abstract: To evaluate the value of propofol as an alternative to the Wada test for memory dominance hemisphere. Methods From February 2012 to December 2016, the Wada test was successfully completed in the Department of Functional Neurosurgery of Hebei People’s Hospital, and 64 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy were treated surgically. The memory quotient (MQ) of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy was measured by the revised Wechsler Memory Scale of China before and after operation. The difference of memory function was compared between one week before operation and six months after operation. Results All patients completed the test with an average MQ of 96.06 ± 5.54,including average long-term memory (29.28 ± 2.92), average short-term memory (57.12 ± 4.25) and average instantaneous memory (9.65±1.49). Compared with the normal norm, the MQ (81.04±7.29 vs. 100) and short-term memory (48.18 ±7.56 vs.60) were lower in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (P＜0.05). Forty-seven patients with hemispheric dominance of memory were treated surgically. Wechsler’s memory test was performed again 6 months after operation. There was no significant difference in MQ before and after operation (95.94±5.83 vs. 95.45±5.78) between the two groups (P＞0.05). There were also no significant differences in long-term memory (29.04±3.19 vs. 28.45±2.83), short-term memory (57.28±4.26 vs.57.55±4.10) and instantaneous memory (9.62±1.54 vs. 9.45±1.56) before and after operation between the two groups (P＞0.05). Conclusion The study confirms that the Wada test with propofol substitution could be used to determine the dominant hemisphere of memory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and could be used as a method for preoperative evaluation of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Key words: epilepsy, temporal lobe, Wada test, memory quotient