[Clinical observations on the psychopathology of amnesic episodes (transient global amnesia) (author's transl)]

Observations obtained by psychopathologic examination and some psychologic testing of two patients in the course of amnesic episodes (transient global amnesia) are presented and discussed. In both cases the psychopathologic findings are those of a reversible isolated amnesic syndrome, characterized by diffuse retrograde amnesia and recent memory deficit, whereas immediate and remote (personal) memory are preserved. Stereotype questions, disorientation in time, and--in one case--anxious restlessness, which accompany the amnesic syndrome, are probably due to impaired memory and the patient's awareness of it. This typical syndrome allows differentiation of amnesic episodes from other types of amnesia. In the first case, which had been under clinical observation from the beginning to the end of the amnesic episode, a special evolution of the event could be ascertained. The acute amnesic episode reached its climax with a certain delay and thereafter decreased gradually. It can be presumed that--at least during the remission phase in the second case--the ability of recall is impaired rather than that of registration and retention. Other findings obtained in the second case--and compared with observations in the literature--point out that in the phase of remission the timespan of retrieval seems to become longer and, in respect to previously applied sensory modalities, improves in a different manner.