Novel forms of forgetting in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Journal article

Transient Epileptic Amnesia (TEA) is a recently defined subtype of temporal lobe epilepsy, principally affecting people in middle age with a male predominance. Its key manifestation is the occurrence of recurring episodes of transient amnesia, usually lasting less than an hour and often occurring on waking. One-third of patients have exclusively amnestic attacks, while in two-thirds, at least some attacks are accompanied by other manifestations of epilepsy, especially olfactory hallucinations. Several lines of evidence point to a seizure focus in the medial temporal lobes. Transient Epileptic Amnesia is accompanied by a striking loss of autobiographical memories in two-thirds of sufferers, accelerated loss of memories which had been acquired successfully in around one half, and topographical amnesia in around one-third. This paper reviews the findings of the TIME project (The Impairment of Memory in Epilepsy - http://sites.pcmd.ac.uk/time/tea.php) in relation to TEA, accelerated long-term forgetting, and remote memory impairment.

Authors: Zeman, A; Butler, C; Muhlert, N; Milton, F

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Epilepsy and behavior : EandB
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 335-342
• Publication date: 2013-03-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2012.09.030
• EISSN: 1525-5069
• ISSN: 1525-5050
• Language: English
• Keywords: Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Memory Disorders