Spatial working memory and contextual cueing in patients with Korsakoff amnesia

The current study investigated the effect of Korsakoff syndrome on memory for spatial information and, in particular, the effect of contextual cueing on spatial memory retention. Twenty Korsakoff patients and a comparison group of 22 age- and education-matched participants were tested with a newly developed spatial search task (the Box task). Participants were asked to search through a number of boxes shown at different locations on a touch-sensitive computer screen to find a target object. In subsequent trials, new objects were hidden in boxes that were previously empty. Two conditions were used: the boxes were either completely identical or had different colors serving as a cue. Within-search errors were made if a participant returned to an already searched box; between-search errors occurred if a participant returned to a box that already contained a target item. Moreover, the use of a strategy to remember the locations of the target objects was calculated. The results show that Korsakoff patients make more within and between-search errors than the comparison group, and although they were able to apply a search strategy, it did not help them to remember the locations of the targets. Interestingly, whereas the comparison group benefited from color cues that were given to the boxes, Korsakoff patients failed to do so.