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Subjective ordering and working memory in alcoholic Korsakoff patients
S Wiegersma1, E de Jong, M van Dieren
1University of Utrecht, Vakgroep Psychonomie, The Netherlands.
Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
|November 1, 1991
Summary
Korsakoff patients with alcoholic brain damage do not show impaired frontal-lobe function on memory tasks. Their ability to order verbal responses appears intact, challenging previous hypotheses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Alcohol-related Disorders
Background:
- Alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome is characterized by severe amnesia and is often associated with frontal-lobe dysfunction.
- Previous research suggests significant deficits in executive functions mediated by the frontal lobes in these patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate frontal-lobe dysfunction in alcoholic Korsakoff patients using a battery of short-term memory tasks.
- To specifically assess the impact on passive retention, memory search/comparison, and active response generation.
Main Methods:
- Korsakoff patients and control subjects were administered four tasks: digit span forward (passive retention), a missing scan task (retention, search, comparison), and two subjective ordering tasks (active response generation).
- Performance was compared between patient and control groups.
Main Results:
- No significant performance deficits were observed in Korsakoff patients compared to controls across all tested tasks.
- This includes tasks measuring passive short-term retention, memory search and comparison, and active verbal response generation.
Conclusions:
- The findings do not support a generalized frontal-lobe dysfunction in alcoholic Korsakoff patients beyond their amnesia.
- Specifically, frontal-lobe functions related to the ordering of verbal responses appear to be preserved in this patient population.