Short-term retention of verbal, visual shape and visuospatial location information in normal and amnesic subjects.

Tests of immediate verbal memory span (digit span), immediate memory span for visuospatial location (Corsi block span) and short-term forgetting of words and figures (continuous recognition) were administered to eight alcoholic Korsakoff amnesics, eight alcoholic and eight nonalcoholic control subjects. Korsakoff amnesics had normal immediate memory span for both verbal information and visuospatial location. The performance of control subjects on continuous recognition demonstrated dramatically different patterns of forgetting for words and figures. Amnesics forgot more than control subjects did on both continuous recognition tests, but their patterns of forgetting were equivalent to the patterns of control subjects.