Selective impairments in self-ordered working memory in a patient with a unilateral striatal lesion

Abstract

A patient is described with a strlatocapsular infarct resulting In damage to the left caudate-putamen, sparing the left ventral striaturn and globus pallidus, who exhibits relatively selective deficits In self-ordered working memory performance. These deficits were shown repeatedly over several months, with several different types of test and material. The impairments were shown In the absence of obvious perceptual, visuospatial constructional, motor or language deficits. Recognition memory and cued recall performance was intact, although free recall was poor on some occasions. Aspects of executive performance were also Intact, including set-shifting performance, but there were significant deficits in planning. The results are discussed in terms of the operation of parallel, functionally segregated cortlco-striatal ‘loops’.