Home > Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders > Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Definition

Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a severe memory disorder usually associated with chronic excessive alcohol consumption, although the direct cause is a deficiency in the B vitamin thiamin.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), the professional handbook that aids clinicians in diagnosing patients' mental disorders, refers to Korsakoff syndrome as alcohol-induced persisting amnestic disorder and includes it under the category of substance-induced persisting amnestic disorders.

Description

The disorder was first identified in the late nineteenth century. The first phase of the condition, called Wernicke's encephalopathy, was described by German...