Remote Memory in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Abstract

Summary:Purpose: The present study aims at characterizing remote memory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE); it also considers the impact of its most important variables (lateralization of the lesion, duration of epilepsy, age at onset, and seizure frequency) on remote memory.Methods: We examined the performance of 38 patients with unilateral TLE (19 right TLE and 19 left TLE) and 35 healthy subjects on six remote memory tasks. Memory for personal events was assessed by using the Autobiographical Memory Interview and the Modified Crovitz Test. Memory for public events was evaluated by means of photographs of famous faces and famous scenes, questions about famous events, and the Dead/Alive Test.Results: Both right-TLE and left-TLE groups had impaired memory for autobiographic episodes and public events relative to normal subjects. In contrast, personal semantic memory was preserved. In addition, an effect of laterality was recorded, with right-TLE patients obtaining significantly better scores than left-TLE patients on every test. Duration of epilepsy, age at onset, and seizure frequency did not influence performance on remote memory measures.Conclusions: The comprehensive neuropsychological study of 38 TLE patients showed that this neurologic condition affects remote memory systems differently. We discuss the different factors that could account for this pattern of performance on the bases of both functional brain organization and memory theories.

015 Remote memory deficits in transient epileptic amnesia

“…Some studies have revealed an impairment of autobiographical memory throughout the entire life span (e.g., Noulhiane et al, 2007;Viskontas et al, 2000), whereas in others the deficit extends back as little as 5 years (Kapur et al, 1997). Viskontas et al (2000) found autobiographical memory deficits with intact personal semantics, while others have reported deficits in both autobiographical memory and semantic memory for public events with intact personal semantic memory (Lucchelli & Spinnler, 1998;Voltzenlogel et al, 2006) or disproportionate loss of public semantics compared to autobiographical memory (Barr et al, 1990;Manning et al, 2005). This evidence is consistent with the dissociations observed between components of remote memory in other contexts (e.g., Graham & Hodges, 1997;O'Connor et al, 1992) suggesting there is at least partial independence between these processes (Kapur, 1999).…”

Human medial temporal lobe neurons respond preferentially to personally relevant images

“…This incidental recollection has been shown to occur in the context of identifying famous people (3), and has also been shown to involve the hippocampus (4,5). Furthermore, famous faces and names have long been used to query the integrity of recent and remote semantic memory in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (3,(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Finally, autobiographical memory retrieval consistently engages the medial temporal lobe (12), suggesting that cells in this region may respond differentially to faces that elicit autobiographical memory retrieval.…”

Benefits from an autobiographical memory facilitation programme in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients: a clinical and neuroimaging study

“…; external details: r = −.06, p = n.s.). Verbal IQ -short form (Axelrod, Ryan, & Ward, 2011;Wechsler, 1997); PM12: Progressive Matrices 12 (Raven, 1958); RAVLT: ReyAuditory Verbal Learning Test (Rey, 1964); ROCF: Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (Rey, 1941); Déno 100 (Kremin, 2002);Stroop Test (Stroop, 1935); Months Back (National Hospital, London); Tower of London (Shallice, 1982); Brixton (Burgess & Shallice, 1997); Cognitive Estimation Task (Shallice & Evans, 1972); Verbal Fluency (National Hospital, London); AMIPB: Information Processing Speed Test from the Adult Memory Information Processing Battery (Coughlan & Hollows, 1985); VOSP: Visual Object and Space Perception (Warrington & James, 1991) (Crovitz & Schiffman, 1974;Rubin, Schrauf, & Greenberg, 2003;Voltzenlogel et al, 2006). Twelve to 15 memories were collected, depending on the patient's age (0-11 years; 12-20 years; 21 to current age minus 1 or 21-35 years and 36 to current age minus 1; last year).…”