Evidence of normal emotional responsiveness in alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome in the presence of profound memory impairment

Abstract

Memory and likeability ratings for emotion-laden and neutral stimuli were investigated in Korsakoff amnesics, former heavy drinkers and light drinkers. Tasks were recall of self-generated paired-associates, primed recognition and likeability ratings for faces previously paired with emotional or neutral descriptors, and ratings of the emotionality of items in a 64-word list. The Profile of Mood States and Geriatric Depression Scale were also administered. Despite severely impaired recall in Korsakoff's amnesics, the effects of emotional versus neutral material were not distinguishable among the three groups. These findings indicate a need to re-examine the notion that flattening of emotional responsiveness is a central characteristics of Korsakoff's Syndrome.