AMNESIA
GEORGE WILSON M. D.1,
CHARLES RUPP M. D.1, , and
WILLIAM W. WILSON M. D.1
1 The Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry of the Philadelphia General Hospital.
Amnesia or loss of memory for personal identification is a symptom which may occur in association with organic brain diseases, psychoses (particularly schizophrenia), and hysteria, and very frequently it is deliberately produced. Differentiation in respect to the responsible etiologic factor is sometimes facile, sometimes difficult. In addition to the presence of concomitant signs and symptoms, the structure of the amnesic defect and the character of the pre-amnesic personality may be helpful. If the amnesic episode serves as a means of escape from a difficult personal situation or the consequences thereof it is most likely simulated. Recovery is usually prompt and often spontaneous.
