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Psychogenic amnesia and self-identity: a multimodal functional investigation
S Arzy1, S Collette, M Wissmeyer
1Department of Neurology, Hadassah Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. shahar.arzy@ekmd.huji.ac.il
European Journal of Neurology
|May 11, 2011
Summary
Psychogenic amnesia, marked by memory loss and identity issues, may stem from altered left posterior parietal cortex function. This brain region
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Clinical Neurology
Background:
- Psychogenic amnesia is characterized by episodic memory deficits and impaired self-identity.
- Limbic dysfunction is typically linked to memory deficits, while self-identity issues may involve the posterior parietal cortex.
Observation:
- Functional investigations, including fMRI, electrical neuroimaging, and PET, were conducted on a patient with acute repetitive psychogenic amnesia.
- The patient underwent both resting-state and 'time-travel' behavioral paradigm testing.
- Left posterior parietal activation was observed in the patient, contrasting with 12 control subjects.
Findings:
- The study revealed significant left posterior parietal activation in a patient experiencing psychogenic amnesia.
- This activation pattern differed from that observed in healthy control subjects during similar cognitive tasks.
Implications:
- Functional alterations in the left posterior parietal cortex may underlie the impairment of self-identity and episodic memory in psychogenic amnesia.
- These findings suggest a potential neurobiological basis for the complex symptoms of psychogenic amnesia, highlighting the role of the posterior parietal cortex.
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