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Isolated retrograde amnesia for autobiographical material associated with acute left temporal lobe encephalitis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

L. Hokkanen ,
J. Launes ,
R. Vataja ,
L. Valanne  and
M. Iivanainen
L. Hokkanen*
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Radiology and Child Neurology, University of Helsinki, Finland
J. Launes
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Radiology and Child Neurology, University of Helsinki, Finland
R. Vataja
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Radiology and Child Neurology, University of Helsinki, Finland
L. Valanne
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Radiology and Child Neurology, University of Helsinki, Finland
M. Iivanainen
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Radiology and Child Neurology, University of Helsinki, Finland
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Laura Hokkanen, Department of Neurology, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 4, 00290 Helsinki, Finland.
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Synopsis

Retrograde amnesia for autobiographical material in the absence of anterograde amnesia or other memory disturbances was found in a patient with acute viral encephalitis. Memory loss showed a temporal gradient, but new learning was spared. Both brain perfusion imaging with 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT, and EEG localized the lesion in the left temporal lobe while CT and MRI were normal. This observation supports the anatomical differentiation between the different memory functions. The uncommon combination of isolated retrograde amnesia without other neuropsychological findings may raise the doubt of psychogenic aetiology, which in this case was refuted.

Type
Case Report
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , January 1995 , pp. 203 - 208
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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