Dissociation of declarative and nondeclarative memory after bilateral thalamic lesions: a case report

The case of a 63-year-old woman who suffered bilateral ischemic damage in the region of blood supply of the paramedian thalamic arteries is reported. She displayed severe deficits on immediate and delayed recall of both verbal and visuospatial material in the presence of intact IQ and attentional abilities. Performance on tests of all major components of nondeclarative memory (skill acquisition, perceptual priming, classical conditioning) was also preserved. The present report, thus, provides a further example for dissociations of declarative and nondeclarative memory functions following bilateral thalamic damage.