“Who am I?”, diminished sense of self in Korsakoff’s syndrome

Little is known about how patients with Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS) experience sense of self. We addressed this issue by inviting patients with KS and control participants to produce statements describing their self, that is, statements to the question “Who am I?.” Statements were analyzed regarding three self-dimensions (i.e., physical, social, and psychological). Results showed fewer “Who am I?” statements related to physical, social, and psychological self in patients with KS than in control participants. Furthermore, patients with KS produced similar number of statements describing physical, social, and psychological self; the same finding was observed in control participants. In patients with KS and control participants, verbal fluency was significantly correlated with the general production of “Who am I?” statements but not with the production of statements related to any specific self-component. These findings demonstrate how KS affects self-images in general, and more specifically, those related to physical, social, and psychological self. These findings also suggest a diminished sense of self or even identity, in patients with KS.