The etiology and neuropathology of alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome. Some evidence for the role of the basal forebrain

Abstract

Recent neuropsychological and neuropathological investigations with long-term alcoholics suggest that the etiology and neuropathology of the Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome are more complex than previously believed. Although problem-solving and visuoperceptual deficits seem to develop slowly during decades of alcoholism, the amnesic symptoms associated with Korsakoff's syndrome may appear acutely when severe malnutrition and alcoholism are combined. Furthermore, the report that alcoholic Korsakoff patients, like patients with Alzheimer's disease, have endured a substantial neuronal loss in structures comprising the basal forebrain suggests a role for this brain region in the alcoholic patients' amnesic syndrome. Some initial demonstrations of similarities in the memory disorders of alcoholic Korsakoff and Alzheimer patients indicate that Korsakoff's syndrome may be accurately characterized as a "basal forebrain" as well as a "diencephalic" amnesia.