THE AMYGDALAS CONTRIBUTION TO MEMORY - A STUDY ON 2 PATIENTS WITH URBACH-WIETHE DISEASE

THE consequences of primary amygdaloid damage on memory performance ar e described in terms of neuropsychological, CT, MRI and PET results of two patients, a brother and a sister. Both had circumscribed, bilater ally symmetrical damage confined to the amygdaloid region, while the h ippocampal formation and other brain structures were intact. PET-imagi ng furthermore revealed an overall decrease in glucose metabolism whic h was particularly apparent at the cingular and thalamic levels. Altho ugh neither patient was amnesic, both showed memory impairments in sel ective tests. In one patient these impairments were more pronounced an d they were accompanied by marked affective-emotional fluctuations. Ou r results suggest that the amygdaloid region is a bottleneck structure that confers an affective flavour to memories, thereby enhancing the probability of their long term storage.