Systematic revision of the neural bases of dissociative amnesia

Abstract

Introduction: Dissociative amnesia (DA) is a retrograde amnesia characterized by an alteration in episodic memory. Aim: Establish the neural bases which underlie the development of dissociative amnesia. Methods: Systematic and evaluative bibliographic review of qualitative type. Results: The bibliography found suggested functional inhibition in the hippocampus, amygdala, temporal lobes, prefrontal cortex and thalamus. Also, hypoglycemia was observed in right cerebral cortex, at the fronto-temporal junction. An inhibition in the potential action P300 was also stated. Conclusions: There is enough evidence to say that dissociative amnesia is an objectifiable biologically based pathology. There is a need to review the current conceptualization of this syndrome and to establish new criteria that would allow us to distinguish DA from organic amnesias.