The chronic effects of XXXX on memory. A contrast between a unitary and dual system approach.

@entity167 @entity73 @entity988 @entity2730 @entity9137 @entity2414
Recent studies have indicated that @entity2414 is a common @entity73 related to long-term @entity167 consumption. Such deficits range from subtle disturbance through a "subclinical" @entity2730 to full-blown @entity9137 . This finding is congenial with the hypothesized continuum of @entity167 -related @entity2414 . Among alcoholics, this @entity2414 appears to be etiologically distinct from the commonly observed deficits in abstracting and problem-solving abilities. In the present chapter, a dual and a unitary formulation of memory are contrasted in their ability to present a coherent account of what memory tasks Korsakoff amnesics can and cannot do. The explanations offered by unitary theory are weak compared to those derived from the theory that memory consists of two distinct systems--experiential and abstractive memory. We indicate how the pattern of responding on standard clinical tests of memory can be coherently analyzed post hoc within the dual formulation. A number of experimental predictions are also presented based on the theory that Korsakoff amnesics have a profound impairment of experiential memory, whereas the abstractive system is essentially normal. Such experiments should clarify the nature both of Korsakoff @entity2730 and of memory itself. In conclusion, we indicated that @entity2414 related to @entity988 can be understood in terms of a gradient, or continuum, of impairment of the experiential system.
