Semantic encoding deficits in a case of traumatic amnesia |
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Authors: | Robert J Zatorre William J McEntee |
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Institution: | 1. Veterans Administration Medical Center, Providence, Rhode Island U.S.A.;2. Brown University U.S.A. |
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Abstract: | A 33-year-old patient was studied neuropsychologically 19 years after sustaining severe head trauma. A recent CT scan showed lesions in the left frontal and right temporal regions. Performance on standard memory tests, both verbal and visuospatial, was extremely poor, although other intellectual functioning was relatively spared. The patient showed some interesting deficits in semantic processing. In a depth of processing task there was no advantage for words where semantic encoding had been induced. Neither was there any release from proactive interference after shifts in semantic categories. Deficits were also observed in short-term memory distractor tasks as well as in cueing tasks. These findings suggest that the cognitive deficits commonly observed in Korsakoff's disease can also be present in other amnesic disorders and may in part be related to cortical and especially frontal lobe atrophy. |
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Keywords: | Send requests for reprints to Robert J Zatorre who is currently at the Neuropsychology Department Montreal Neurological Institute 3801 University Montreal Quebec H3A 2B4 Canada |
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