CONFABULATION

Confabulation is a specific symptom that manifests in some amnesic patients who are unaware of their memory deficit. This symptom is commonly observed in Korsakoff syndrome (KS), a neuropsychiatric disorder that is often the result of chronic and excessive alcohol consumption in combination with severe malnutrition. The profound impact of this symptom on the daily lives of patients and their caregivers is well-documented. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the neurocognitive processes involved in confabulation in KS. In this project, confabulation is considered as a dysfunction of prediction error mechanisms concerning the self, using predictive coding theory in cognitive science. Confabulation occurs when an individual's recollection of past events does not align with their actual memories, leading them to unconsciously create false narratives to resolve this inconsistency. A multimodal methodological approach is to be employed, combining behavioural, neuropsychological and neuroimaging techniques, as well as an ecological method via virtual reality to investigate confabulation. The results of this study will allow the development of a novel neurocognitive model of confabulation, thereby enhancing our comprehension of the diverse clinical manifestations of this symptom at cognitive and cerebral levels. Finally, we will develop a therapeutic education program on confabulation. This program is intended for healthcare professionals and caregivers, with the objective of fostering a more informed care ecosystem that is tailored to the needs of patients.