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THE AMNESIC SYNDROME OF POSTERIOR CEREBRAL ARTERY OCCLUSION
Author(s) -
Benson D. Frank,
Marsden C. David,
Meadows John C.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1974.tb02767.x
Subject(s) - amnesia , posterior cerebral artery , anterograde amnesia , medicine , context (archaeology) , retrograde amnesia , occlusion , cerebral infarction , infarction , memory disorder , cardiology , psychology , anesthesia , ischemia , cognitive disorder , middle cerebral artery , myocardial infarction , psychiatry , cognitive impairment , paleontology , disease , biology
Ten patients who suffered an acute onset of amnesia associated with either unilateral or bilateral visual field defects are described. Clinical evaluation pointed to infarction in the posterior cerebral artery territory in each case. The posterior cerebral artery supplies medial temporal structures (including hippocampus), and infarction in this region is presumably responsible for the amnesia. Amnesia occurring as a symptom of a stroke was thus strongly linked to posterior cerebral artery occlusion. Amnesia is usually said to require bilateral lesions but four cases in the present series appeared to have unilateral (left‐sided) occlusion. There are several reports in the literature of amnesia following either left posterior cerebral artery occlusion or left temporal lobectomy. The question of unilateral vs. bilateral damage in the genesis of amnesic states is discussed in relation to this left‐sided preponderance and in the context of the common origin of both posterior cerebral arteries. From present evidence it is concluded that lesions confined to the left side may cause temporary amnesia, but that the evidence for permanent amnesia is inconclusive.