Amnesia following basal forebrain lesions

A. R. Damasio, N. R. Graff-Radford, P. J. Eslinger, H. Damasio and N. Kassell

Of five patients with damage to the basal forebrain, four had lesions secondary to rupture of anterior cerebral or anterior communicating artery aneurysms, and one to the resection of an arteriovenous malformation. Computed tomographic scans and intraoperative reports confirmed damage to basal forebrain regions, which include septal nuclei, nucleus accumbens, substantia innominata, and related pathways. Behavioral disturbances featured a prominent amnesic syndrome and personality changes. The amnesia was distinguishable from that reported in patients HM and DRB and shared features with that seen in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome. We propose that the memory disorder can be explained by malfunctioning in the hippocampal system, secondary to damage in the basal forebrain structures with which it is strongly interconnected. The dysfunction might, in part, be caused by reduction of specific neurotransmitter innervation because the lesions are likely to damage cholinergic neurons and nearby catecholamine pathways within the basal forebrain.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Cholinergic Modulation of Spindle Bursts in the Neonatal Rat Visual Cortex In Vivo
Hanganu et al.
J. Neurosci. 2007;27:5694-5705.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

References
APPI Online CME 2007;2007:2-2.
FULL TEXT  

Mechanisms of spontaneous confabulations: a strategic retrieval account
Gilboa et al.
Brain 2006;129:1399-1414.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Cognitive sequelae of head injury: involvement of basal forebrain and associated structures
Salmond et al.
Brain 2005;128:189-200.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Sleep-Wake Related Discharge Properties of Basal Forebrain Neurons Recorded With Micropipettes in Head-Fixed Rats
Lee et al.
J. Neurophysiol. 2004;92:1182-1198.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The scope of preserved procedural memory in amnesia
Cavaco et al.
Brain 2004;127:1853-1867.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Designing Human m1 Muscarinic Receptor-Targeted Hydrophobic Eigenmode Matched Peptides as Functional Modulators
Selz et al.
Biophys. J 2004;86:1308-1331.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Cholinergic Hypothesis of Age and Alzheimer's Disease-Related Cognitive Deficits: Recent Challenges and Their Implications for Novel Drug Development
Terry and Buccafusco
J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 2003;306:821-827.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Rhythmically Discharging Basal Forebrain Units Comprise Cholinergic, GABAergic, and Putative Glutamatergic Cells
Manns et al.
J. Neurophysiol. 2003;89:1057-1066.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Disorders of memory
Kopelman
Brain 2002;125:2152-2190.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Unilateral Lesions of the Cholinergic Basal Forebrain and Fornix in One Hemisphere and Inferior Temporal Cortex in the Opposite Hemisphere Produce Severe Learning Impairments in Rhesus Monkeys
Easton et al.
Cereb Cortex 2002;12:729-736.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Face memory impairments in patients with frontal lobe damage
Rapcsak et al.
Neurology 2001;57:1168-1175.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Neuropsychological and psychiatric complications in endoscopic third ventriculostomy: a clinical case report
Benabarre et al.
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 2001;71:268-271.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Deficits in decision-making in patients with aneurysms of the anterior communicating artery
Mavaddat et al.
Brain 2000;123:2109-2117.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Amnesic confabulatory syndrome after focal basal forebrain damage
Hashimoto et al.
Neurology 2000;54:978-980.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Basal forebrain amnesia: does the nucleus accumbens contribute to human memory?
Goldenberg et al.
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 1999;67:163-168.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Individual and Cultural Reality Monitoring
JOHNSON
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 1998;560:179-193.
ABSTRACT  

Neurobehavioural disturbances, rehabilitation outcome, and lesion site in patients after rupture and repair of anterior communicating artery aneurysm
Böttger et al.
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 1998;65:93-102.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Amnesia after a discrete basal forebrain lesion
Abe et al.
J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 1998;65:126-130.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Memory systems analyses of mnemonic disorders in aging and age-related diseases
Gabrieli
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1996;93:13534-13540.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor expression in memory circuits: Implications for treatment of Alzheimer disease
Levey
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 1996;93:13541-13546.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Three Cases of Enduring Memory Impairment after Bilateral Damage Limited to the Hippocampal Formation
Rempel-Clower et al.
J. Neurosci. 1996;16:5233-5255.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The predictive brain: temporal coincidence and temporal order in synaptic learning mechanisms.
Montague and Sejnowski
Learn. Mem. 1994;1:1-33.
ABSTRACT  

Sensorimotor skill learning in amnesia: additional evidence for the neural basis of nondeclarative memory.
Tranel et al.
Learn. Mem. 1994;1:165-179.
ABSTRACT  

The medial temporal lobe memory system
Squire and Zola-Morgan
Science 1991;253:1380-1386.
ABSTRACT  

Memory: Organization of Brain Systems and Cognition
Squire et al.
Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol 1990;55:1007-1023.
ABSTRACT  

Mechanisms of memory
Squire
Science 1986;232:1612-1619.
ABSTRACT