Korsakov's syndrome is a devastating impairment of recent memory that is caused by a thiamine deficiency which can result from alcohol abuse, mal-absorption, hyperemesis or starvation. Furthermore, other causes of Korsakov's syndrome also include heavy metal poisoning, head injury and tumors. A patient suffering from Korsakov's syndrome will most likely have an extensive pathology in the bilateral hippocampus and will actively exhibit confabulation. Confabulation occurs when a patient creates pseudo-memories about what happened during a forgotten episode. Also, during confabulation the patient's recall of the events of the past seem more imaginative than logical. Fortunately, although the patient may exemplify confabulation there are still certain perceptions and other cognitive functions that remain intact and are known to function normally. Korsakov's syndrome is also known to cause retrograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is amnesia that occurs before the trauma or disease that caused the condition and thus, individuals lack the...