Retrograde amnesia with transposition in the past: A neuropsychological and PET study of a case

Retrograde amnesia (RA) with a "transposition in the past" phenomenon has been rarely reported. Patients presenting disproportionate RA for all events over a defined period of time offer an opportunity to investigate the unclear relationship between autobiographical memory and the self, through the well-known self-memory system (SMS).

We report the case of a 31-year-old right-handed woman who presented to the emergency department of our tertiary care center with an ongoing episode of RA. After resolution of the episode, she had a second transient episode of RA. An extensive neuropsychological battery was performed to assess her autobiographical and nonautobiographical memory during and after the 2 episodes of RA. She also had an 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG PET) scan during the second RA episode.

During the 2 RA episodes, results showed lacunar amnesia for autobiographical as well as nonautobiographical memories of the time period between the present and the past 15 years, with preserved anterograde memory. Moreover, her memories before this lost period were more accurate than those after the 2 RA episodes. During the 2 RA episodes, our patient experienced a "transposition in the past" phenomenon. Statistical analysis of the PET scan demonstrated a significant hypometabolism within the right hippocampus.

The "transposition in the past" phenomenon illustrates the relationship between both episodic and autobiographical memories and the functioning of self, according to the SMS model. Moreover, this case suggests the involvement of the hippocampus in this phenomenon. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).