[Post-traumatic amnesia syndrome].

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Mnesic deficits are frequent in subjects which have suffered from head injury and may persist during may years. OBJECTIVE: We will analyze posttraumatic amnesia characteristics (PTA) as well as learning and memory deficits which are normally observed once the PTA phase is over. DEVELOPMENT: The PTA is defined as the period that follows a brain injury in which the affected person is incapable of consistently remembering at least the last 24 hours. That is, the period after the head injury in which the incorporation of new information in long term memory is not possible. The study of PTA has generally been focussed on the analysis of the alterations of temporo-spatial orientation and mnesic deficits, however other cognitive and behavioral alterations do exist (linguistic, attentional, critical judgement, information processing, perception, etc.), and they are associated with the particular memory disorder that we are studying, given their influence on it. We will take on board the different theories that have been proposed to explain mnesic deficits which occur during the PTA phase: lack of consolidation of new information within longterm memory; recall deficit as a result of inefficient coding of information; failures of the mechanisms to carry out the process of consolidation-recall, and poor organization in the coding of new material. We will put forward a guide for the neuropsychological assessment of memory based on the analytic and concrete study of each mnesic cognitive component, sustained generally by specific neurophysiological functional systems which allow us to establish a diagnosis, prognosis, and adequate therapeutic focus for each concrete case.