Effects of experimenter- and self-generated imagery on the Korsakoff patient's memory performance

The ability of Korsakoff patients to retain verbal information was examined as a function of self- and experimenter-generated imagery. Korsakoff and alcoholic control participants were presented 12-item paired-associate test lists following both self-and experimenter-generated imagery conditions, and baseline conditions involving no specific instructions. Participants completed a standard recall and a forced-choice recognition task 15 min and 24 hr following the learning trials for each test list. Results indicated that Korsakoff patients can utilize self-generated and experimenter-generated imagery to improve performance. Experimenter-generated was found to be as facilitative or mor facilitative, than self-generated imagery.