Abstract
Memory for contextual information and target-context integration are crucial for successful episodic memory formation and
are impaired in patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome. In this paper we review the evidence for the notion that a context memory
deficit makes an important contribution to the amnesia in these patients. First, we focus on anterograde memory for contextual
(spatial and temporal) information. Next, the use of contextual cues in memory retrieval is examined and their role in retrograde
amnesia and confabulation. Evidence on the role of contextual cues and associations in working memory is discussed in relation
to the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms and their dissociation from long-term encoding. Finally, we focus on implicit
learning of contextual information in Korsakoff patients. It can be concluded that Korsakoff patients are impaired in the
explicit processing of contextual information and in target-context binding, both in long-term (retrograde and anterograde)
memory and in working memory. These results extend the context memory deficit hypothesis. In contrast, implicit contextual
learning is relatively preserved in these patients. These findings are discussed in relation to evidence of dysfunction of
the extended diencephalic-hippocampal memory circuit in Korsakoff’s syndrome.
are impaired in patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome. In this paper we review the evidence for the notion that a context memory
deficit makes an important contribution to the amnesia in these patients. First, we focus on anterograde memory for contextual
(spatial and temporal) information. Next, the use of contextual cues in memory retrieval is examined and their role in retrograde
amnesia and confabulation. Evidence on the role of contextual cues and associations in working memory is discussed in relation
to the underlying neurocognitive mechanisms and their dissociation from long-term encoding. Finally, we focus on implicit
learning of contextual information in Korsakoff patients. It can be concluded that Korsakoff patients are impaired in the
explicit processing of contextual information and in target-context binding, both in long-term (retrograde and anterograde)
memory and in working memory. These results extend the context memory deficit hypothesis. In contrast, implicit contextual
learning is relatively preserved in these patients. These findings are discussed in relation to evidence of dysfunction of
the extended diencephalic-hippocampal memory circuit in Korsakoff’s syndrome.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Review
- Pages 1-15
- DOI 10.1007/s11065-012-9202-5
- Authors
- Roy P. C. Kessels, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Michael D. Kopelman, King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Division of Psychological Medicine, Neuropsychiatry and Memory Disorders Clinic, Academic Unit of Neuropsychiatry, 3rd Floor Adamson Centre, South Wing, St. Thomas’s Hospital, Lambeth Palace Road, London, SE1 7EH UK
- Journal Neuropsychology Review
- Online ISSN 1573-6660
- Print ISSN 1040-7308