CONTEXTUAL CUEING AS AN AID TO KORSAKOFF AMNESICS

In a series of experiments, the effects were assessed of varying contextual conditions on performance by Korsakoff amnesics and alcoholic controls in tests of negative transfer involving paired-associated lists and straight recall of familiar words. Amnesics' performance was consistently better on those tasks which could be directly associated with distinctive external cues whereas the controls functioned effectively with minimal cueing. The results were interpreted as reflecting a basic retrieval deficit in amnesics, related to an inability to recreate contextual conditions on the basis of normally available stimulus cues. © 1978.