Psychogenic or dissociative fugue: A clinical investigation of five cases

Dissociative fugue (formerly psychogenic fugue) is a rare and little unders tood dissociative disorder. Following a review of the pertinent literature, five cases of dissociative fugue are described. These cases were systemati cally studied with a comprehensive history, mental status examination, phys ical and neurological evaluation, review of previous medical and psychiatri c records, and psychological testing including MMPI, WAIS-R, electroencepha logram, and Dissociative Experiences Scale. An unexpected finding was that, in some cases, associated criminal activity may allow the person with diss ociative fugue to continue to function in spite of their loss of memory and original identity.