"Cinderella was attacked by the big bad wolf, but the police saved her": intrusions and confabulations on story recall in Korsakoff's syndrome and alcohol-related cognitive impairments

BackgroundThe relation between confabulations and intrusions in patients with Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) and patients with alcohol-related cognitive impairments (ARCI) remains under debate. This study examines (1) differences in the production of confabulations and intrusions between patients with KS and ARCI, (2) whether an altered fairy tale induces more intrusions, and (3) whether different types of intrusions were significantly related to confabulations.MethodsTwenty-three patients with KS and twenty-two patients with ARCI recalled three different types of stories: a novel story, a fairy tale, and a modified fairy tale. Different types of intrusions were correlated with confabulation measures.ResultsPatients with KS produced more intrusions in the modified fairy tale condition than patients with ARCI, but these were unrelated to confabulations. Only unrelated intrusions were related to provoked confabulations.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that researchers and clinicians must be aware that in general, intrusions on memory tests should not be interpreted as confabulations. Especially spontaneous confabulations appear to be something completely different from intrusions on any type of story recall. When measuring confabulations it is crucial to use validated instruments.