Shuren J E, Jacobs D H, Heilman K M
Department of Neurology, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997 Feb;62(2):163-8. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.62.2.163.
Amnesia for temporal relations may occur without amnesia for content memories. The aim was to determine whether a patient with mild memory loss due to a thalamic lesion had amnesia for temporal relations, and whether the amnesia was specific for particular material.
A male patient had an isolated right dorsomedial thalamic infarct and resolving amnesia. He was tested on tasks relating to content (what) and temporal (when) memories for both verbal and non-verbal material, three and seven months after his infarct.
Three months after his infarct, the man had amnesia for temporal, but not content memories using non-verbal stimuli, and normal performance using verbal stimuli. Seven months after his infarct, he had a normal performance using verbal and non-verbal stimuli.
Patients with thalamic lesions may have a material specific amnesia for temporal relations in the absence of amnesia for content.
