What is confabulation?

Confabulation refers to the creation of stories or answers to questions in place of actual memories that a person may not be able to recall accurately. This occurs often in individuals with memory disorders, such as those caused by brain injury or certain psychiatric conditions. The person is not intentionally lying; rather, their brain fills in gaps with fabricated information, which they genuinely believe to be true. This phenomenon highlights the complexities of memory and the brain's effort to make sense of experiences.

The other options describe different concepts. The repetition of questions relates to echolalia, which is a separate behavioral phenomenon. The loss of purposeful movement without motor impairment describes a condition such as akinesia, often associated with certain neurological disorders. Finally, defense mechanisms include various psychological strategies but do not specifically pertain to the fabrication of memories as confabulation does. Thus, understanding confabulation provides insight into the ways memory can be affected by various conditions.