Short-term and long-term memory deficit following intracarotid Amytal injection: further support for the memory consolidation hypothesis.

To test the three main hypotheses of the human amnesic syndrome (encoding, consolidation, retrieval), we designed an original protocol for memory assessment under Amytal that included, in addition to a retrograde memory measure, both short-term and long-term anterograde memory measures. Twenty epileptic patients with SEEG-confirmed unilateral temporal lobe foci were given right and left injections on successive days. Only the long-term memory measure for material presented under Amytal was significantly related to the presence of a temporal contralateral epileptogenic focus, even if it was assessed when the hemisphere had completely recovered from the effect of Amytal.

[Neurobehavioral study of colliculectomized monkeys].

A battery of neurological tests was administered to normal and colliculectomized monkeys to determine the effect of the lesion on visually guided behavior, acoustically guided behavior, general locomotor performance and affective behavior. The tests were given at one week and three months post-operatively. The behaviors of the animals were filmed and the results were derived from a careful analysis of the films.