The Japanese journal of neuropsychology

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ArticleTitle	How to evaluate memory impairment
Language	J
AuthorList	Hiroaki Kazui
Affiliation	Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University
Publication	Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology: 39 (3), 210-220, 2023
Received
Accepted
Abstract	Since memory impairment is the most commonly encountered neuropsychological symptom in clinical settings, all medical practitioners must know how to evaluate memory impairment. In the first half of this paper, I explained the terminology related to memory impairment, such as immediate/recent/remote memory, episodic memory, and anterograde/retrograde amnesia. Next, I explained the simple evaluation methods of memory. In this context, I emphasized the importance of assessing attention in the evaluation of memory and explained how to differentiate memory impairment from attention deficits. Third, I explained memory tests, such as Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) and Revermead Behavioural memory Test. In this section, I described the difficulties in evaluating remote memory. In the latter half of this paper, I introduced and explained the evaluation methods for anterograde and retrograde amnesia, based on a report of a few cases of transient global amnesia (TGA) that previously published in the Japanese Journal of Neuropsychology. In our previous paper, we assessed anterograde amnesia of the two TGA cases during and after TGA event by the three objects memory test and WMS-R. These tests showed that anterograde memory was disturbed only during TGA event. In one of the two TGA cases, autobiographical and public retrograde amnesias were impaired to the same extent during TGA event. Even when the TGA case had recovered from the retrograde amnesia almost completely, definite anterograde amnesia in the case remained. These finding implied that the medial portion of the temporal lobe is important for both encoding and retrieval of episodic memory, but that the system for encoding is different from that for retrieval.
Keywords	memory impairment, recent memory, remote memory, evaluation, transient global amnesia