TY - JOUR
T1 - What is the Korsakoff syndrome?–a paper in tribute to Prof Alwyn Lishman
AU - Kopelman, Michael D.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author reported there is no funding associated with the preparation of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022/4/28
Y1 - 2022/4/28
N2 - Introduction: Alwyn Lishman was interested in how memory research could be applied to clinical psychiatry. After a brief review of his major contributions, this paper will focus on his research on the alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome. It will consider how his findings relate to contemporary debates, particularly on how the syndrome should be defined, and its relationship to broader alcohol-induced cognitive impairments. Methods: A review of the contribution of Alwyn Lishman, Robin Jacobson and colleagues to our knowledge of Korsakoff’s syndrome, together with a review of the pertinent recent literature. Results: Lishman and colleagues followed earlier authors in defining the Korsakoff syndrome in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, but they also noted a variable degree of IQ, frontal-executive, and timed visuo-spatial impairment in their cases. More recent authors have included such features in their definitions of the syndrome. Lishman also argued for a specific “alcoholic dementia”. The present paper argues that recent definitions of the Korsakoff syndrome confound its core and associated features, and also fail to recognise the multifactorial basis of alcohol-related brain damage. Conclusions: Korsakoff’s syndrome is best defined in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, and more widespread cognitive impairment is best encompassed within “alcohol-related brain damage”.
AB - Introduction: Alwyn Lishman was interested in how memory research could be applied to clinical psychiatry. After a brief review of his major contributions, this paper will focus on his research on the alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome. It will consider how his findings relate to contemporary debates, particularly on how the syndrome should be defined, and its relationship to broader alcohol-induced cognitive impairments. Methods: A review of the contribution of Alwyn Lishman, Robin Jacobson and colleagues to our knowledge of Korsakoff’s syndrome, together with a review of the pertinent recent literature. Results: Lishman and colleagues followed earlier authors in defining the Korsakoff syndrome in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, but they also noted a variable degree of IQ, frontal-executive, and timed visuo-spatial impairment in their cases. More recent authors have included such features in their definitions of the syndrome. Lishman also argued for a specific “alcoholic dementia”. The present paper argues that recent definitions of the Korsakoff syndrome confound its core and associated features, and also fail to recognise the multifactorial basis of alcohol-related brain damage. Conclusions: Korsakoff’s syndrome is best defined in terms of disproportionate memory impairment, and more widespread cognitive impairment is best encompassed within “alcohol-related brain damage”.
KW - alcoholic brain damage
KW - Korsakoff
KW - Lishman
KW - memory
KW - thiamine
KW - Wernicke
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130011511&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13546805.2022.2067472
DO - 10.1080/13546805.2022.2067472
M3 - Article
C2 - 35477346
AN - SCOPUS:85130011511
SN - 1354-6805
VL - 27
SP - 296
EP - 313
JO - Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
JF - Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
IS - 4
ER -