The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying dissociative amnesia
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The neurocognitive mechanisms underlying dissociative (psychogenic) amnesia.
IRAS ID
292777
Contact name
Laura Marsh
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cambridge University Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Dissociative amnesia, also known as psychogenic amnesia, is a form of memory loss that has a psychological, rather than organic cause. The memory loss can be for specific, usually traumatic situations or events. More rarely, the memory loss can be much more extensive or 'global', in which the individual loses their memory for most or all of their life, and sometimes their sense of personal identity. The memory loss typically affects memory for personal information and events, whilst other aspects of memory and general cognitive function usually remain in-tact. Memories are usually recovered, although sometimes there is a persisting amnesic gap for a period of time.
Because these cases are so rare, the precise neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the memory loss are not well understood. A theoretical model based on combined clinical expertise and experimental findings has suggested that, in the context of a severe stress, depressed mood and previous experience of a mild head injury, frontal control mechanisms are engaged to inhibit memory retrieval. A related body of experimental work in healthy adults has identified a network of brain regions that can be voluntarily engaged to 'block' or suppress memory retrieval. This ability to control memory retrieval is adaptive in many situations (e.g. ignoring distracting memories when trying to focus on work; stopping unhelpful rumination), it is possible that this network is over-engaged in dissociative amnesia. The present study will investigate the role of this memory control network in dissociative amnesia. We hope to collect a series of cases of current and past dissociative amnesia, to examine state and trait level differences. We will combine thorough clinical and neuropsychological assessment, experimental memory tasks and advanced neuroimaging methods to precisely characterise the nature of any differences, relative to healthy controls.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/EM/0050
Date of REC Opinion
7 Apr 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion