Amnesia: its detection by psychophysiological measures.

The term amnesia encompasses many varied examples and causes of memory loss. In an edited text on amnesia, Whitty and Zangwill explore the subject in terms of cerebral disease, trauma, electroconvulsive therapy and psychogenesis. 1 It becomes obvious from the various causative factors involved in amnesia that such a multi-factorial problem requires an eclectic approach in answering. At present, one area being investigated in some detail is alcohoVdrug-induced memory loss. The focus of the present study is the exploration of memory dysfunction resulting from alcohoVdrug abuse. In any discussion of alcohoVdrug-induced amnesia certain features of the dysfunction become important for consideration. Before the amnesia can be examined it must be determined to be either a legitimate loss or a feigned amnesia state. The basis of feigned versus genuine amnesia rests with an individual's biological and psychological resources. Expediency suggests that genuine amnesia tends toward an organic base and feigned toward a psychogenic base. That is to say, the probability of a genuine amnesia is greatly increased when found in concert with organicity. Likewise, feigned memory loss is more likely to be found in individuals suffering from a psychogenic disorder. In addition to the issue of genuine versus feigned amnesia, the type of memory loss is important in any clinical assessment of the disorder. The present study utilizes a clinical breakdown of amnesia type in accordance with characteristics outlined by Bradford and Smith. 2 The amnesia states are discussed in relation to the following category types: (A) hazy amnesia: no absolute amnesia either in circumscribed periods or in one complete period; (B) partial (patchy) amnesia: segments of memory loss with no complete period of amnesia; (C) complete amnesia: total