Thalamic Contributions to Anterograde,Retrograde, and Implicit Memory: A Case Study

Learning and memory deficits are typically associated with damage or dysfunction of medial temporal lobe structures; however, diencephalic lesions are another common cause of severe and persistent memory deficits. We focus specifically on the thalamus and review the pathological and neuropsychological characteristics of two common causes of such damage: Korsakoff's syndrome and stroke. We then present a patient who had sustained bilateral medial thalamic infarctions that affected the medial dorsal nucleus and internal medullary lamina. This patient demonstrated the characteristic temporally graded retrograde amnesia and a profound anterograde memory (i.e., explicit memory) deficit within the context of relatively preserved implicit memory. Implications of this explicit–implicit discrepancy are discussed within the context of cognitive rehabilitation techniques that hold promise for more severely impaired patients.