Memory functioning following a left medial thalamic hematoma.

A patient with a discrete, left medial thalamic hematoma developed a severe anterograde amnesia. The memory deficit was most consistent for verbal materials, but was also observed on several tests of figural memory. The patient appeared to have a normal short-term memory (STM) capacity, performed normally on a STM distractor task and was not abnormally sensitive to proactive inhibition. This case is evidence that unilateral damage to the medial thalamus alone can produce a severe memory deficit.