Neuropsychological sequelae of Wernicke's encephalopathy in a 20-year-old woman: selective impairment of a frontal memory system.

This article reports the neuropsychological sequelae of Wernicke's Encephalopathy in a 20-year-old woman. After amelioration of acute symptoms, the patient showed a range of cognitive impairments the most marked of which was a severe impairment on free recall tasks involving both verbal and nonverbal material. In contrast, recognition memory appeared remarkably well preserved. Some evidence of frontal lobe and general intellectual impairment was also noted. The case is discussed in terms of the pathophysiology of Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome, criteria for its diagnosis, and the multicomponent nature of memory deficits.