Dissociative Disorders and Their Clinical Management Part One: Dissociative Amnesia (Including Its Variant Dissociative Fugue)
DeckerMed Psychiatry December 11, 2018 Angelica Staniloiu, Hans Markowitsch
Dissociative amnesia, a condition marked by memory loss not explained by ordinary forgetting or neurological disease, most often appears as retrograde amnesia (including dissociative fugue) but can also involve anterograde forms. It is frequently overlooked when mixed antecedents and comorbidities are present. Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment that tests all memory systems and includes symptom validity tests is underused in clinical practice, yet it could improve diagnostic accuracy, especially in forensic or litigation contexts. Treatment and rehabilitation options are scarce, and developing evidence-based consensus guidelines for diagnosis and treatment is an essential goal.