Confabulation ("honest lying") may be classified as provoked or spontaneous.
Spontaneous (primary) confabulations are:
(1) involuntary
(2) not in response to a cue and do not tend to occur within an interview
(3) uncommon overall, tend to be seen in dementias
(4) may be triggered by the person confusing chronology or attempting to explain situations to themselves
Provoked (secondary) confabulations:
(1) common in both amnesia and dementia
(2) impairment of autobiographical and semantic memory about dates, places, etc
(3) false memories may be prompted by direct questioning
