1998/05/01 by Federica Lucchelli Silvia Muggia Hans Spinnl · 2 citations
Medicine · Neuroscience · #Epilepsy research and treatment #Memory Processes and Influences #Memory and Neural Mechanisms
paper · doi:10.1080/135468098396189
openalex publication_date 1998/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/03
Three cases of pure retrograde amnesia (PRA) are reported. The sudden onset of PRA occurred after minor head trauma in two cases (CDA and AF) and after emotional stress in one case (GC). No structural brain damage was apparent in any of the three patients. Evidence of temporal gradient was found. A progressive recovery occurred in all three cases. Issues concerning the definition of PRA are addressed. A unitary, aetiology-independent mechanism linking a welter of heterogeneous triggering conditions (i.e. aetiologies) to the isolated (i.e. pure) outcome of retrograde amnesia is suggested. Neuropsychological aspects of such a mechanism are envisaged. The contributions of PRA to neuropsychological research are discussed, in particular, the implicit versus explicit availability of past information, the architecture of remote memory archives, and the dissociation of anterograde and retrograde recall.