Memory for object locations in Korsakoff's amnesia.
Deficits in spatial context memory are an important characteristic of Korsakoff's amnesia. In memory for spatial context information, there is evidence for a functional dissociation of three separate processes: (1) binding of object information to locations (i.e. binding complex memories), (2) exact, metric processing of Euclidean co-ordinates, and (3) an integration mechanism. In the present study, these sub-mechanisms were assessed experimentally in a group of Korsakoff patients (N = 20) and compared to healthy controls (N = 20) to see whether selective deficits can be demonstrated. It was found that Korsakoff patients display deficits on all three spatial-memory conditions, which are not the primary result of deficits in visuo-spatial construction and memory for object identity. No evidence for selective impairments could be observed. These impairments can be linked to damage of diencephalic regions and perhaps the parietal cortex.
Kessels
R P
RP
Psychological Laboratory, Utrecht University, The Netherlands. r.kessels@fss.uu.nl
Postma
A
A
Wester
A J
AJ
de Haan
E H
EH
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020915:Korsakoff Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology