ANALYSIS OF THE MEMORY IMPAIRMENT IN A POST-ENCEPHALITIC PATIENT WITHFOCAL RETROGRADE-AMNESIA

This study aimed to characterize the qualitative pattern of focal retr ograde memory impairment shown by a post-encephalitic patient (AV). AV 's memory deficit encompassed autobiographical data, public events and famous people. In a public events questionnaire, she demonstraed a sm ooth negative temporal gradient with good recollection of events that occurred about 15 years before the disease but poor memory of more rec ent events. Her visual input lexicon was unimpaired, as demonstrated b y normal lexicality judgment for words and normal familiarity judgment for proper names, but she was poor in familiarity judgment for famous faces (prosopagnosia) and in accessing the meaning of words or specif ic information about people. The cerebral MRI demonstrated widespread abnormal intensity areas encroaching upon the white matter of temporal , parietal and occipital lobes but sparing temporal poles and orbite-f rontal cortex.