Modality specific memory disorders in man.

Abstract

The results of detailed testing of over 50 patients referred to the memory consultation service of the Neurological Institute indicate the following: 1. Recent memory was impaired more frequently than remote. 2. Defects in remote memory, especially remote memory for impersonal events, were present in over half the patients. 3. In no case was remote memory defective and recent memory spared. In other words, a defect in recent memory was pre-requisite to having a defect in remote memory. 4. The left hemisphere is specialized for recent verbal memory and the right hemisphere is specialized for recent visual memory. 5. Gustatory and olfactory recent memory were much more resistent to the destructive influence of a brain disease than were verbal or visual recent memory. 6. There was some suggestive evidence that the dominant hemisphere is specialized for gustatory memory and the non-dominant hemisphere is specialized for olfactory memory. 7. In no case was gustatory memory impaired while verbal was preserved. In other words, a defect in recent verbal memory was pre-requisite to having a defect in gustatory recent memory.