Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T23:26:27.805Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Recovery of memory and executive function following anterior communicating artery aneurysm rupture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2009

Mark D'Esposito ,
Michael P. Alexander ,
Richard Fischer ,
Regina Mcglinchey-Berroth  and
Margaret O'connor
Mark D'Esposito
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Michael P. Alexander
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine and Stroke Rehabilitation Program, Braintree Hospital, Braintree, MA 02185
Richard Fischer
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychology, New England Sinai Hospital, Stoughton, MA and Department of Neurology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02702
Regina Mcglinchey-Berroth
Affiliation:
GRECC, West Roxbury VA Medical Center, West Roxbury, MA and Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02132 Memory Disorders Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02215
Margaret O'connor
Affiliation:
Memory Disorders Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02215
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We studied the recovery of memory and executive function in 10 patients following anterior communicating artery aneurysm (ACoA) rupture and repair. Patients were tested at 2 consecutive points in time following surgery (approximately at 2 and 3 months). At the first testing, the patients divided into 2 groups based on the severity of impairment on executive measures. Both groups had severe anterograde amnesia, but only patients with severe executive impairments had retrograde amnesia with a temporal gradient. At second testing, both groups had persistent severe anterograde amnesia. The dysexecutive group showed significant improvement in executive deficits and in retrograde amnesia, with attenuation of the temporal gradient. Patients with more severe executive impairments had more extensive bilateral frontal lesions than other patients. These results suggest that the cognitive profile following ACoA rupture changes with time. Time postonset following aneurysm rupture and lesion site are both critical for defining the neuropsychological profile, and determining the underlying cognitive mechanisms in this neurological disorder. (JINS, 1996, 2, 565–570.)

Keywords

Anterior communicating artery aneurysmAmnesiaExecutive functionRecovery
Type
Case Study
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 2 , Issue 6 , November 1996 , pp. 565 - 570
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Albert, M., Butters, N., & Levin, J. (1979). Temporal gradients in the retrograde amnesia of patients with alcoholic Korsakoff's disease. Archives of Neurology, 36, 211–216.Google Scholar
Alexander, M. & Freedman, M. (1984). Amnesia after anterior communicating artery aneurysm. Neurology, 34, 752–757.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benton, A. (1968). Differential behavioral effects in frontal lobe disease. Neuropsychologia, 28, 171–179.Google Scholar
Butters, N. & Stuss, D. (1989). Diencephalic amnesia. In Boller, F. & Grafman, J. (Eds.), Handbook of neuropsychology (Vol. 3, pp. 107–148). New York: Elsevier Science Publishers.Google Scholar
Delis, D., Kramer, J., Kaplan, E., & Ober, B. (1987). California Verbal Learning Test manual. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Fischer, R., Alexander, M., D'Esposito, M., & Otto, R. (1995). Neuropsychological and neuroanatomical correlates of confabulation. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 17, 20–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gade, A. & Mortensen, E. (1990). Temporal gradient in the remote memory impairment of amnesic patients with lesions in the basal forebrain. Neuropsychologia, 28, 985–1001.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heaton, R. (1981). Manual for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.Google Scholar
Irle, E., Wowra, B., Kunert, H., Hampl, J., & Kunze, S. (1992). Memory disturbance following anterior communicating artery rupture. Annals of Neurology, 31, 473–480.Google Scholar
Laiacona, M., De Santis, A., Barbarotto, R., Basso, A., Spagnoli, D., & Capitani, E. (1989). Neuropsychological follow-up of patients operated for aneurysms of anterior communicating artery. Cortex, 25, 261–273.Google Scholar
Lezak, M. (1983). Neuropsychological assessment (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Parkin, A., Yeomans, J., & Bindschaedler, C. (1994). Further characterization of the executive memory impairment following frontal lobe lesions. Brain and Cognition, 26, 23–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reitan, R. (1958). Validity of the Trail Making Test as an indication of organic brain damage. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 8, 271–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shoqeirat, M., Mayes, A., MacDonald, C., Meudell, P., & Pickering, A. (1990). Performance on tests sensitive to frontal lobe lesions by patients with organic amnesia: Leng & Parkin revisited. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 29, 401–408.Google Scholar
Spreen, O. & Strauss, E. (1991). A compendium of neuropsychological tests: Administration, norms, and commentary. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Stenhouse, L., Knight, R., Longmore, B., & Bishara, S. (1991). Long-term cognitive deficits in patients after surgery on aneurysms of the anterior communicating artery. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 54, 909–914.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wechsler, D. (1981). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised manual. New York:Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1987). Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised manual. New York: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar