The intracarotid amobarbital sodium procedure. False-positive errors during recognition memory assessment
D. W. Loring, G. P. Lee and K. J. Meador
Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912-3275.
Memory performance during the intracarotid amobarbital sodium (Amytal
sodium) procedure was examined in 40 patients as part of their diagnostic
work-up as candidates for epilepsy surgery. Free recall was significantly
better following right hemisphere injection although no left/right
difference was present during recognition assessment. However, the
occurrence of false-positive (FP) recognition errors was significantly more
frequent following left hemisphere injection. In all conditions, no
relationship to seizure focus was observed. Patients with FP errors
displayed poorer delayed verbal memory during baseline neuropsychological
assessment compared with patients without FP errors. Data indicate an
inverse relationship between FP errors and recent verbal memory function,
and they suggest that impaired memory rather than failure to suppress
incorrect responses secondary to poor self-monitoring capacity is
responsible for the generation of FP and intrusion errors.
