THE AMNESTIC SYNDROME IN THE EARLY PHASE OF WERNICKE'S ENCEPHALOPATHY

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Three cases of Korsakoff''s psychosis in the early phase of Wernickes encephalopathy were investigated repeatedly by psychological tests. The aim was to elucidate which psychological processes are involved in this condition. Previous attempts at psychological analysis of the amnestic syndrome are mentioned. The investigations revealed a faceted picture in which the prominent features were characteristic disturbances in motivation, perception, thinking, and memory functions. The results do not give support to the view that only 1 psychological process is disturbed, for example learning, and that all the other features can be explained on the basis of this single phenomenon. Changes found in the entire mental function are so extensive that a disturbance in the organization of personality seems to be the theoretical model which can most appropriately assemble the individual features.

This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit: