Alcoholic Korsakoff's psychosis: a psychometric, neuroradiological and neurophysiological investigation of nine cases

Nine patients who were admitted to Purdysburn Hospital with a clinical diagnosis of Korsakoff's psychosis were subjected to a series of psychometric tests, to electroencephalography (including P3 auditory evoked potential) and to computerised axial tomography. When compared with controls, the experimental group differed significantly in their psychometric scores in all but the comprehension, vocabulary and digit span subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. A significant negative correlation was found between scores on the Digit Symbol Subtest and the degree of temporal lobe atrophy (p < 0.01), and between Evans' Ratio and the Paired Associate Learning Test of the Wechsler Memory Scale (p < 0.05). The P3 auditory evoked potential correlated significantly with a poor performance on the Digit Symbol Subtest. In all cases, cortical atrophy co-existed with ventricular dilatation and in none was intellectual impairment confined to short-term memory. The traditional criteria used in arriving at a diagnosis of Korsakoff's psychosis are called into question.