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© 1996 American Academy of Neurology Neural basis of confabulation
Department of Neurology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA. (Dr. Benson) (Dr. Miller) Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Benson, 702 SW Canyon Drive, Portland, OR 97225. we present a case of acute alcohol-induced Korsakoff amnesia. A severe amnestic-confabulatory syndrome characterized the early clinical status. The initial neuropsychological tests demonstrated severe learning deficits plus impaired performance on many, but not all, tests of frontal lobe function. Single-photon emission CT (SPECT) at this stage showed hypoperfusion in the orbital and medial frontal regions and the medial diencephalic area. Four months later, the patient's amnesia remained but there was no confabulation. Repeat neuropsychological tests confirmed an ongoing severe amnesia, but performance on the frontal lobe tests now was normal. Repeat SPECT showed a return to normal perfusion in the frontal brain areas but little improvement in the medial diencephalic region. These findings along with data from the clinical literature suggest that confabulation results from dysfunction of orbital and a medial frontal cortex.
Note. Readers can obtain a table consisting of 1 page from the National Auxiliary Publication Service, do Microfiche Publications, P.O. Box 3513, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163-3513. Request document no. 05307. Remit with your order (not under separate cover), in U.S. funds only, $7.75 for photocopies or $4.00 for microfiche. Outside the United States and Canada, add postage of $4.50 for the first 20 pages and $1.00 for each 10 pages of material thereafter, or $1.75 for the first microfiche and $.50 for each fiche thereafter. There is a $15.00 invoicing charge on all orders filled before payment. Received May 23, 1995. Accepted in final form October 27, 1995. This article has been cited by other articles:
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