Tell about yourself to improve your autobiographical memory: A study of Korsakoff's syndrome

Abstract

Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) has been associated with a difficulty to retrieve specific autobiographical memories. We investigated whether this difficulty can be alleviated after the retrieval of statements describing self-images. KS patients and control participants were recruited and asked to retrieve autobiographical memories after providing statements to the question ?Who am I?? and after a control condition consisting of verbal fluency. Analysis showed higher autobiographical specificity in the ?Who am I?? than in verbal fluency condition in both patients with KS and control participants. At a theoretical level, our findings demonstrate how retrieval of information related to conceptual self may influence autobiographical memory in KS. At a clinical level, our procedures are important as they demonstrate how a simple task (i.e., ?Who am I?? statements) may serve as a tool to cue specific autobiographical memories in patients with KS.