High emotional experience during autobiographical retrieval in women with Korsakoff syndrome

Introduction In this exploratory study, we investigated gender differences regarding autobiographical memory in KS. Method We invited 33 patients with KS and 35 matched control participants to retrieve autobiographical memories and, afterward, to rate mental time travel during retrieval, emotional value and importance of memories. Results Analysis demonstrated lower specificity (i.e., lower ability to retrieve memories situated in a specific time and space), mental time travel, and importance in patients with KS compared to control participants. Analysis also demonstrated no significant difference between patients with KS and control participants regarding emotion. Critically, analysis demonstrated no significant differences neither women and men with KS, nor between women and men in the control group, regarding autobiographical specificity, mental time travel, or importance. However, women with KS attributed higher emotional value for memories compared to men with KS, and the same results were observed in the control group. Discussion These findings demonstrate that the higher emotional experience during autobiographical retrieval, as observed in the general population, can also be observed in KS.