Psychogenic Memory Deficits Associated with Functional Cerebral Changes: An fMRI Study

Abstract

We studied a case of psychogenic amnesia by means of a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment involving the retrieval of autobiographical memories. The 38-year-old patient was unable to access most of her autobiographical memories from her childhood up to 16 years of age. Compared with the forgotten period, evocation of the normally retrieved memories elicited increased activity in medial temporal and dorso–lateral frontal regions. Evocation of the preserved scattered recollections was associated with bilaterally distributed temporo-parieto-occipital loci of activations. These functional changes seem to support the idea of common mechanisms involved in both organic and psychogenic amnesias.

Keywords:

• Autobiographical memory
• fMRI
• Psychogenic amnesia

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Professor D. Grucker, our project's principal medical researcher. We thank Ms C. Marrer for technical assistance and Ms N. Heider for administrative assistance. We also thank Amanda Miles for English suggestions. This work was supported by Cognitique-ACI (fMRI project), the Ministry of National Education and Research (sabbatical year to LM, 69th section, Neuroscience), and the ‘Conseil Régional d'Alsace’ (for AB).