Confabulation

Confabulation is a memory error in which a person produces fabricated, distorted or misinterpreted memories about themselves or the world, without any intention to deceive. It is generally associated with certain types of brain damage, especially an aneurysm in the anterior communicating artery, or with a specific subset of dementias, and researchers implicate the basal forebrain in the phenomenon. People who confabulate present with incorrect memories ranging from subtle inaccuracies to surreal fabrications, may confuse or distort the timing, sequence or duration of events, and are typically very confident in their recollections even when challenged with contradictory evidence. Confabulation is distinguished as provoked or spontaneous, and as verbal or behavioral, and can occur alongside nervous system injuries and illnesses including Korsakoff's syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and traumatic brain injury, as well as personality disorders such as borderline personality disorder; researchers believe damage to the right frontal lobe is implicated in producing the false memories, and children are especially susceptible to it being provoked.