Severe episodic memory impairment after strategic infarct: A case report

ABSTRACT. Brain infarcts located in strategic regions often result in cognitive impairment. Based on a case study, this paper describes unusual and specific clinical and neuropsychological features of a strategic ischemic lesion in the left medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures. Taken together with the literature data, the case illustrates that a unilateral strategic infarct in MTL structures may result in severe impairment of episodic memory (EM), which refers to the ability to encode and retrieve personal experiences, including information about the time and place of an event and detailed description of the event itself. The preservation of other cognitive functions, the severe functional impairment, and the type of visual-verbal deficit in a left-sided lesion were identified as singular features of the case. The current case supports the critical role of the MTL structures in EM formation.