[Verbal, visual and aural memory in the early postoperative period in patients treated by thalamotomy]

Verbal memory and learning ability were determined before the operation and immediately 3-4 weeks after stereotactic surgery in 11 patients with extrapyramidal motor disturbances treated by ventrolateral (VL and Vim) thalamotomy. Preoperative examinations demonstrated disturbances of short-term verbal memory with narrowing of its extent and increased susceptibility of the trace to interference. Long-term memory was disturbed also, with presence of difficulties in recall and difficulties in memorization of verbal materials. Directly after the operation, in relation to the preoperative testing, increased disturbances were demonstrated in all stages of verbal memory, after damage to the border area of VL and Vim nuclei in the left as well as in the right thalamus. It was possible to detect some functional differentiation between thalamic lesions, with a tendency for increased disturbances of short-term verbal visual memory after right-sided thalamotomy and verbal auditory memory after left-sided thalamotomy.