Amnesia in Korsakoffs Syndrome - Term Paper Example

? Bilateral Medial Temporary Lobectomy and Korsakoff Syndrome Amnesia affiliation Bilateral Medial Temporary Lobectomy and Korsakoff Syndrome Amnesia Amnesia is a disease associated with the loss of memory from the brain. Amnesia is the memory impairment. It is the inability to memorize or recall any information that is stored in one’s memory. Many patients suffering from amnesia cannot remember any information of the past and this makes them not to think of the future since they are not able to recollect their past experiences in order to reconstruct their future. According to Corkin (2002) depending on the causing factors of the disease, amnesia can be permanent or temporary. He further points out that treatment of the disease also greatly influences the depth at which the disease affects a person (Corkin, 2002). With proper and well timed treatment a person can be effectively treated from amnesia and its effects (Kolb & Whishaw, 2003). However, causing factors play the most significant role in dictating the depth at which the disease may affect the individual. Two of the most rampant causing factors are the Korsakoff’s syndrome and the bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy. The two syndromes have different scopes and depth at which they create an association with the disease. According to Eysenck & Keane (2005) the difference between the two causing factors lies in the depth at which loss memory affects a person. However, the author points out that with proper treatment the two causing factors can be neutralized at the same level. The paper will describe Korsakoff’s syndrome and the bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy and their association with amnesia (Corkin, 2002). The paper will also will give an insight on the level at which the two conditions affects the human brain in terms of memory loss. Additionally, the paper will provide the main difference between the two conditions and their relation to amnesia. Korsakoff’s syndrome This is a neurological disorder that is caused by the lack of vitamin B1 (thiamine) in the brain (Kolb & Whishaw, 2003). Its onset is highly influenced by chronic abuse of alcohol and severe malnutrition. Kosslyn & Smith (2007) point out that alcohol abuse has a high probability of causing the condition as compared to malnutrition which may or may not cause the condition. The authors point out that Korsakoff’s syndrome caused by malnutrition is only on a temporary basis if the timing of the condition and its treatment is done effectively (Kosslyn & Smith, 2007). However, the case is different in alcohol which causes severe tissue damage in the brain. Amnesia caused as an influence by alcohol can still have significant effects of the person even after treatment since tissue damage cannot be completely corrected (Eysenck & Keane, 2005). Korsakoff’s syndrome symptoms are all associated with acute or deep memory loss. They include (Corkin, 2002): Anterograde amnesia Retrograde amnesia Apathy Lack of insight Meager of content Confabulation (invented memories perceived as true due to the gaps in the memory). All the above symptoms are caused by the lack of vitamin B1 in the brain. Vitamin B1 is essential in the carboxylation of the pyruvate. Lack of carboxylation damages the mammillary bodies and medial thalamus. These two parts of the brain are part of the limbic system of the brain which is responsible for emotion and memory creation in the brain. According to Eysenck & Keane (2005) the destruction of the limbic systems requires surgery to rectify the disorder. The authors point that when surgery is used to rectify this disorder, the symptoms becomes similar to that of the bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy (Eysenck & Keane, 2005). However, they point out that the similarity is created by the factor causing a patient to surgery (Eysenck & Keane, 2005). Bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy Amnesia caused by bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy is greatly associated with surgery from which the limbic system in the brain is tampered with. In case of an accident in which the brain gets damaged a person undergoes surgery. In case of bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy the medial portions of the temporal lobes are removed. The amnesia causing procedures mostly is created with the removal of the hippocampus, amygdale and the adjacent cortex. According to Kosslyn & Smith (2007) it is an obvious assumption that the removal of these parts of the brain can cause malfunction in the ability of the brain to retain memories. Additionally, the author points out that the removal of the above parts of the brain may cause a patient to have difficulties when forming long time memories. The patient may also have difficulties in creating short time memories of related memories or already experienced memories. Bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy amnesia is similar to that by Korsakoff’s syndrome in regards to the destroyed parts of the brain. In both cases the hypothalamus and the medial thalamus are destroyed. These two parts of the brain are responsible for recalling information and refreshing already experienced memories. With the destruction of the hypothalamus and the medial thalamus a patient is not able to recall past information. Downes et.al (2002) argue that minus surgery and tampering of the limbic system of the brain the bilateral medial-temporal lobectomy may not have severe effects and consequences after treatment. The difference Korsakoff syndrome is a brain disorder that is associated with heavy and long term alcohol intake. It is also associated with thiamine or vitamin B deficiency in the brain. Patients with Korsakoff syndrome amnesia have profound deficits in their ability to recall recent events. On the other hand, bilateral medial temporal lobectomy amnesia is associated with brain surgery. It causes lasting and severe memory impairment whereby one cannot acquire new information nor recall pat information at any given time (Kosslyn & Smith, 2007). The main difference between amnesia associated with Korsakoff syndrome and that associated with bilateral medial temporal lobectomy amnesia what causes them. Korsakoff syndrome amnesia is caused by a deficiency in thiamine in the brain and long term alcohol intake and amnesia associated with bilateral medial temporal lobectomy is caused through surgery by the removal of medial portions in both temporal lobes in the brain. In bilateral medial temporal lobectomy amnesia, some portions of the brains are removed which are hippocampus, amygdale and adjacent cortex which later result to amnesia because the functioning of the brains is tampered with (Kosslyn & Smith, 2007). On the other hand, in the amnesia associated with Korsakoff syndrome, the hypothalamus, medial thalamus, neocortex, cerebellum and hippocampus are damaged due to excessive alcohol consumption and severe malnutrition and lack of vitamin B. Moreover, the Korsakoff syndrome amnesia is caused naturally while the bilateral medial temporal lobectomy amnesia is experienced after a brain surgery. Patients with Korsakoff syndrome amnesia are more disproportionally impaired compared to patients with bilateral medial temporal lobectomy amnesia (Corkin, 2002). Medial temporal lobectomy amnesia affects a patient’s long term memories as one cannot transfer short term memories to long term memories. Conversely, Korsakoff’s syndrome amnesia does not affect long term memories but it causes problems with episodic memories. A patient with amnesia associated with Korsakoff syndrome tends to forget certain episodes or experiences in their lived due to the damage of the medial thalamus, hypothalamus, neocortex, hippocampus, as well as the cerebellum (Downes et.al, 2002). Their ability to recall certain information is inhibited. In addition, Korsakoff syndrome amnesia affects a patient’s childhood memory while medial temporal lobectomy amnesia only affects a patients long term memories (Corkin, 2002). Korsakoff amnesiacs lose information at an accelerated rate compared to medial temporal lobectomy amnesiacs because they are severely impaired both their attention and spatial memory. Korsakoff syndrome and bilateral medial temporal lobectomy amnesia have similar impairments as both lead to anterograde and retrograde amnesia (Downes et.al, 2002). The only difference is that in patients with Korsakoff syndrome amnesia, the retrograde amnesia develops later in the course of the disorder and when it progresses, it later leads to anterograde amnesia. References Corkin, S. (2002). "What's new with the amnesic patient H.M.?" Nature Reviews Neuroscience 3 (2): 153–160 Downes, J., Mayes, A. R., MacDonald, C. and Hunkin, N., M. (2002). Temporal order memory in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome and medial temporal amnesia. Neuropsychologia, 40(7): 853-61. Eysenck, M., W. and Keane, M., T. (2005). Cognitive Psychology: A Student’s Handbook. Hove, UK: Psychology Press. Kolb, B. and Whishaw, Q. (2003). Fundamentals of human neuropsychology. New York: Worth Publishers Smith, E. and Kosslyn, S., M. (2007). Cognitive Psychology: Mind and Brain. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Read More