The pathophysiological mechanisms behind amnesia are still unknown. Recent literature, through the study of patients with Alcohol Use Disorder with and without Korsakoff’s syndrome, increasingly shows that physiological alterations to the thalamus have an important role in the development of amnesia. This review gives an overview of neuropsychological, neuropathological and neuroimaging contributions to the understanding of Korsakoff’s syndrome, highlighting the central role of the thalamus in this amnesia. The thalamus being a multi-nucleus structure, the limitations regarding the loci, nature and alterations to specific nuclei are discussed, along with potential solutions. Finally, future directions for clinical research are laid out to unravel the intricacies inherent to amnesia. They consider the need to evaluate the physiological role of the thalamus, not only as an entity but also as part of a brain circuit through a more integrative approach.

健忘症背后的病理生理机制尚不清楚。最近的文献，通过对有和没有 Korsakoff 综合征的酒精使用障碍患者的研究，越来越多地表明丘脑的生理改变在健忘症的发展中起着重要作用。本综述概述了神经心理学、神经病理学和神经影像学对理解 Korsakoff 综合征的贡献，强调了丘脑在这种健忘症中的核心作用。丘脑是一个多核结构，讨论了有关位点、性质和特定核改变的局限性，以及潜在的解决方案。最后，制定了临床研究的未来方向，以解开健忘症固有的复杂性。