Korsakoff amnesic syndrome: the result of simultaneous deficits in several independent processes?

A memory retraining program for nontoxic chronic alcoholics

This study assessed the effectiveness of a memory rehabilitation program for fifty-nine alcoholics, using a pretest/posttest control group design. The Dooks Memory Test evaluated the different facets of memory, and the Trailmaking Test A and B measured attention and concentration. An analysis of covariance yielded a significant main effect for the Memory Retraining Program (p less than 0.001). The covariate for the composite memory scores was also significantly (p less than 0.025). There was also a significant effect of Age (p less than 0.025) and of IQ p less than 0.002. There were no interaction effects between age and treatment, or IQ and treatment, and no other independent variables (education, duration, days since last drink, depression) were significant. The results point to the potential effectiveness of a memory retraining program for a variety of educational levels, age groups and IQ scores.

Thalamic mediodorsal nucleus and memory: a critical evaluation of studies in animals and man

Following a general description of the anatomical organization of the thalamic mediodorsal nucleus (MD) of animals and man, the involvement of this nucleus in the processing of memory related information has been evaluated by reviewing stimulation, electrophysiological, and lesion studies in animals, and by reviewing research on induced lesions, degenerative changes and vascular damage of MD in humans. Neither the results from animal experiments nor those from studies on humans provide clear-cut evidence for a specific, memory related role of MD. However, the findings here presented do support the theory that MD is one of several, possible memory related relay stations. While therapeutically induced and circumscribed lesions of MD rarely result in long-lasting memory deficits, pathological processes in MD are more likely to be followed by severe memory disturbances if one or more particular structures in addition to MD are included in the lesioned regions. Consequently, it is emphasized that only the disruption of more than one site along memory related pathways will result in severe and enduring memory deficits. To account for apparent inter-species differences in the involvement of MD in memory related processes, it has been argued that MD and its principal cortical target region might basically be involved in arousal and emotional processes, but that for primates and especially for man the phylogenetically young parvocellular sector of MD and its cortical projection region, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, are furthermore involved in memory functions, which are modulated by emotional factors via the rest of MD and the prefrontal cortex.

A verbal semantic deficit in the alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome

A test designed to assess the adequacy of knowledge about specific words, presumed to be well established in long-term storage, was administered to 5 alcoholic Korsakoff patients, 3 post-trauma amnesics, and 5 normal controls. The 400 question true/false test tapped knowledge of basic and obscure attributes and functions of 25 noun-concepts. The data indicate that traumatic amnesics made more total errors than Korsakoff amnesics, who in turn made more errors than normals. However, Korsakoffs made a greater proportion of errors on basic-knowledge items than the other groups. It is concluded that semantic organization is impaired in both amnesic groups, although differently. The post-trauma error pattern suggests a uni-factor deficit while the Korsakoff pattern suggests a multifactor deficit.