Descriptive Psychopathology: The Signs and Symptoms of ...

326 Section 3: Examination domainsTable 13.6. Patterns of onset of amnestic disordersOnsetSuddenSubacuteSlowDisordersAmnestic strokesDiencephalic or inferomedial temporal traumatic lesionsSpontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhageCarbon monoxide poisoning and hypoxiaPost-surgical amnesiaAcute and chronic depression and mania are associated with substantialdeficits in frontal circuitry-related cognitive functionsWernicke–Korsakoff’s syndromePost-infectionPosttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders areassociated with problems in working memory, sustained attentionand new learningParkinson’s diseaseAlzheimer’s diseasePick’s diseasePrion diseaseWorking memoryWorking memory is a sensory perception 34 or a thought that is “held” for about30seconds while the person decides what to do with that information. Workingmemory requires adequate attention. A common example of working memory isasking for a phone number and “holding” the number long enough to go to thephone and press in the numbers.Working memory is assessed by digit span and similar tests. Attention is alwaysassessed before testing for working memory. Working memory is always assessedbefore proceeding with other memory assessments, all of which are dependent onadequate attention and working memory. Many psychiatric disturbances affectworking memory, including melancholia, mania, psychosis, and toxic states.Declarative memoryDeclarative memory is the process in which information is learned deliberatelyand the learning explicitly demonstrated through recall of the information. It hastwo forms: semantic and episodic memory.Semantic memory is verbally based, detailed public information, the knowledgeof which can be explicitly demonstrated, such as naming all the countries inSouth America, or the 12 pairs of cranial nerves. 35 Semantic memory is often