Subjective Experience of “Stream of Consciousness Impairment” in Three Patients with Severe Amnesia
June 24, 2026 Anaïs Servais, Fleur Gérard, Hélène Mirabel et al. preprint
Patients with severe anterograde amnesia recurrently report the belief that they have just awakened from an unconscious state, a phenomenon exemplified by Clive Wearing's diary entries. The authors describe three new patients with autoimmune encephalitis and massive bilateral hippocampal inflammation who experienced similar subjective experiences. They propose the term "Stream of Consciousness Impairment" for this condition, referencing William James's theory of uninterrupted consciousness flow. The authors argue this phenomenon should be added to the spectrum of neurological symptoms relevant to studying memory and consciousness.