An unusual cause of autobiographical memory loss.
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Authors
Naughton, Marie
Coen, Robert
Doherty, Colin
Lawlor, Brian
Issue Date
2011-Jun
Type
Journal Article
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
We describe an unusual cause of autobiographical memory loss in a 55 year old man who presented with prominent memory loss for significant events in his life over a period of five years with evidence of patchy memory loss for events prior to this. It was associated with emotional lability and was complicated by a number of tragic events in his life in the previous four years. In addition there were a number of brief episodes (< 30 mins) where he would transiently lose his memory for events including for hours, days or months prior to the event. Neuropsychological assessment confirmed prominent autobiographical memory loss with minimal deficits in other domains. An electroencephalogram (EEG) revealed a simple partial seizure arising from the right temporal lobe, pointing to a diagnosis of Transient Epileptic Amnesia. He was commenced on anti-epileptic medication and responded both subjectively and objectively. There are approximately 94 cases of TEA described in the literature and the diagnostic criteria and postulated aetiology of this illness is discussed here. Clinicians need to have high index of suspicion of epilepsy when assessing a patient with prominent autobiographical memory impairments.
Description
Citation
Naughton, M., Coen, R., Doherty, C., & Lawlor, B. (2011). An unusual cause of autobiographical memory loss. Irish journal of psychological medicine, 28(2), 97–99. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0790966700011526
Publisher
License
Journal
Irish journal of psychological medicine
Volume
28
Issue
2
PubMed ID
ISSN
2051-6967