Confabulation, memory deficits, and frontal dysfunction
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 1, 2026

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) for Memory Enhancement
Published on: September 18, 2021
M K Johnson1, M O'Connor, J Cantor
1Memory Disorders Research Center, Boston University, USA. mkj@clarity.princeton.edu
Abstract:
This paper explores potential cognitive deficits underlying confabulation of patient, G.S., following an anterior communication artery aneurysm. G.S.'s performance on tasks assessing memory for temporal duration, temporal order, and speaker identification is examined as is his recollection of autobiographical events. We compare G.S. with three nonconfabulating patients matched with him for age, education, and neuropsychological measures of memory and frontal deficits and with three age- and education-matched control subjects. Like frontal control patients, G.S. underestimated temporal durations and showed poor source monitoring (speaker identification). In addition, G.S. showed an even more pronounced deficit in recall of autobiographical memories and relatively more detailed reports of laboratory-induced memories for imagined events. We suggest that this configuration of deficits rather than any single factor accounts for G.S.'s tendency to confabulate.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Cerebellum and Prefrontal Cortex in Memory
Dementia l: Introduction
False Memories
One primary source of false memories is misattribution, where individuals incorrectly associate external information with...
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Amnesia
The severity and duration of memory loss vary depending on the type and underlying cause. Amnesia is classified into two main types: retrograde and anterograde.
Retrograde amnesia is marked by the loss of memories formed before the onset of the condition. Patients may recall distant past events but often forget those occurring shortly before the incident.
Anterograde...

