The scientific study of human memory is largely based on the theoretical and experimental analysis of memory deficit in normal subjects and in amnesic patients. Memory deficit can express itself as  ‘negative’ symptoms such as the failure to retrieve desired information, or as ‘positive’ symptoms such as memory distortions One such memory distortion is confabulation, that is the production of statements or actions that are unintentionally incongruous to the subject’s history, background, present and future situation. This rather infrequent disorder is classically described in Korsakoff’s syndrome. But confabulation is also seen in patients suffering from ruptured aneurisms of the anterior communicating artery, subarachnoid haemorrhage or encephalitis, head injury Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia and aphasia. Confabulation may also be observed, on occasion, in normal subjects.

Current projects

1) HM-TC (Hippocampus, Memory and Temporal consciousness)

According to our hypothesis the hippocampus is the best candidate as the neural correlate of Temporal Consciousness, i.e. the individuals’ ability to remember personal episode, to be oriented in their present world and to predict their personal future. The Memory, Consciousness and Temporality Theory predicts several research outcomes, some of which already demonstrated, to be investigated with the methods of classical neuropsychology and with neuroimaging evidence.

2) PREAD (Pre Alzheimer’s Disease)

Alzheimer’ disease (AD) is a major health problem in our societies. No disease-directed pharmacological treatment is presently available. Only pharmacological symptomatic treatments are. The early, preclinical, presymptomatic detection of the disease is crucial in order to provide patients at risk with, hopefully, new treatments. At present, sensitivity and specificity of biomarkers of AD are very low and therefore useless. At present, neuropsychological evaluation is the only tool available for clinical and preclinical diagnosis of AD. We aim at providing screening and diagnostic tests for the preclinical diagnosis of AD.