POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER AND HEAD-INJURY AS A DUAL DIAGNOSIS - ISLANDS OF MEMORY AS A MECHANISM

This case study describes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and he ad injury after a road traffic accident involving a pedestrian. Previo us studies have proposed two mechanisms by which this dual diagnosis m ay occur: (1) when post-traumatic amnesia and retrograde amnesia are s mall or non-existent and (2) when non-declarative memory systems for t he traumatic event are in operation. This case study demonstrates a th ird mechanism--''islands'' of memory within posttraumatic amnesia.