1. Disorders of memory made simple
John O’Donovan

2. Functional anatomy of cognitive functions
Distributed
Focal
Consciousness
Memory
Higher order intellectual functions, personality and executive functioning
Dominant versus non dominant hemisphere

3. Attention ARAS Thalamus Hypothalamus Multimodal association cortex
Right parietal cortex

4. Tests of attention Orientation Digit span
Recitation of months of year or days of weeks
Words forwards and backwards
Serial 7s
Remember, if attention does not work then neither does anything else.

5. Memory Very messy-need to know it inside out.
You will have questions on memory as it covers psychology, neurology and psychiatry.

6. Episodic

7. Episodic

8. Semantic

9. Memory divisions Explicit or declarative Implicit or procedural
Available to conciousness
Not available to consciousness

10. Explicit memory Epidodic Semantic Personal events
Autobiographical events
Birthday last year?
First kiss?
First job?
What was on TV last night?
General knowledge
Capital of France?
Who wrote War and Peace?
Distance from Exeter to Plymouth?

11. Memory divisions Episodic Semantic Hippocampal formation Limbic system
Diencephalic system: basal forebrain and thalamus.
Temporal neocortex with perhaps more verbal semantic memory on left and more visual semantic memory on right.

12. Implicit Motor skills Basal ganglia Cerebellum
Riding a bike, car, playing the piano, motor skills.

13. Short versus long term memory
Avoid the term short term memory, it’s a mess.
Think instead in terms of working memory and long term memory.
Simple concept of working memory, remembering information for 5-30 minutes
Working memory is better as a concept.

14. Working memory and loops
Central executive probably based in frontal lobes
Phonological loop to verbal area in dominant hemisphere and visuospatial loop to non dominant loop
Ongoing simultaneously and not completely independent of long term memory

15. Retrograde and anterograde memory
Retrograde: recall of previously learnt material.
Anterograde: acquisition of new memories.

16. Where is memory stored?
Seems that verbal memory is dominant hemisphere
Seems that visual memory also known as iconic memory is non dominant.

17. The amnesic syndrome Pure deficit in memory.
All other areas more or less intact.

18. Amnesic syndrome Acute and transient Chronic TGA Epilepsy
Closed head injury
Drugs
Psychogenic
Hippocampal
Herpes simplex
Anoxia
Surgical resection of temporal lobes
Bilateral posterior cerebral artery occlusion
Closed head injury
Alzheimer’s disease
Diencephalic
Korsakoff’s
3rd ventricle tumours
SAH-ACAM anuerysm

19. Amnesic syndrome 1 generally preserved IQ.
2 preserved short term/working memory for example digit span.
3 anterograde amnesia
4 retrograde amnesia which is generally more severe in diencephalic amnesia
5 preserved procedural/implicit memory

20. Amnesic syndrome Diencephalic Hippocampal Problems with encoding
Problems with retrieval of memory from long term storage
The main problem is either encoding or consolidation, unlikely to be retrieval.

21. Memory MCQs Semantic memory Episodic memory Is constantly acquired
Is intact in Korsakoff’s
Is intact in Alzheimer’s Disease
Is intact in semantic dementia
Non dominant temporal lobe lesions can result in prosopagnosia for famous faces
Is impaired in Alzheimer’s.
Is the same as autobiographical memory.
Is normal in poorly controlled epilepsy
Is intact in Korsakofff’s
Is normal in psychogenic fugue.

22. Memory MCQs Implicit memory Short term memory
If brought into consciousness, is then explicit.
Is affected by cerebellar disease.
Also has an autobiographical element.
Is intact in the amnesic syndrome
Cannot be tested
Has a time limit of 30 minutes
Is the same as working memory
Is intact in Korsakoff’s
Is a term best avoided due to imprecision.
Is intact in Alzheimer’s disease.