Topic 3: Awareness And Confabulation Flashcards
research has predominantly approached confabulation as …
A useful neurocognitive symptom from which one can infer cognitive models of normal memory function
Confabulation is frequently associated with lesions to the …
Ventromedial prefrontal cortex
As well as other surrounding areas, including the orbifrontal cortex, the basal forebrain, the anterior cingulated cortex, and other ‘anterior limbic’ areas.
Which impairments are necessary for confabulations to occur?
Most studies seem to suggest that although impaired memory may be necessary for confabulation to occur, it is not sufficient to cause it. Most investigations suggest that some degree of executive function impairment seems also to be necessary for confabulation to occur
Two main classes of theories regarding confabulations have been put forward, which ones?
- explanations that focus on impaired temporality or reality monitoring
- explanations that emphasize deficits in the control of memory retrieval
What observation led to the suggestion that confabulating patients have a disturbed ability to determine chronology?
Confabulating often misattribute experiences of a given time to events that occurred at another time, or confuse the order of experienced events.
How is self-monitoring training used in the treatment of confabulations?
Patients have to self report their confabulations using a hand-held clicker
What may influence the way that confabulating people react to rehabilitation?
The patients subjective experience of themselves following brain damage. The role of patients own experiences on their post morbid self may influence functional outcome and psychosocial well-being in traumatic brain injury
What kind of errors are amnestic errors? And confabulating errors?
Amnesic errors are errors of omission and confabulating errors are errors of commission
Disorders of self-awareness can range from mild to severe, name three stages.
- anosognosia
- impaired self awareness
- denial
What is anosognosia?
Complete unawareness of a lost neurological or neuropsychological function
What is impaired self awareness (ISA)?
Partial syndrome of unawareness of the disturbed function
Patients with ISA show some awareness of their impairments
They may use both defensive and non-defensive approaches for coping with their limited awareness of an impaired function
What is denial?
A psychological method of coping with a loss or threat of loss that has personal significance to the individual
What supports the clinican’s rating scale?
The separation of ISA and Denial of Disability (DD)
What is characteristic for patients with ISA, and for patients with DD?
Patients with ISA are often perplexed when given feedback about their impairments, no negative or positive reaction.
Patients with DD often become irritated when given feedback, they often disregard the feedback
What is the main difference between anosognosia and denial?
Unlike denial, anosognosia results from brain damage
What is evidence for the statement that an inability to cope with emotional consequences of a severe neurological loss is not sufficient?
Greater frequency of anosognosia after cerebral than peripheral paralysis suggests that an inability to cope with emotional consequences of a severe neurological loss is not sufficient since many peripheral disorders are very impairing but practically never associated with anosognosia.
Does patients with anosognosia have implicit knowledge?
Yes, there is an inconsistency between patients verbal answers and behaviors.
Example: patients deny paralysis but accept to stay in bed or in a wheelchair
