The Amnesias: A Clinical Textbook of Memory Disorders

The book's clearcut scheme of organization will enhance its value and user-friendliness. It divides the amnesias into three types: progressive, permanent, and transient. The first type includes amnesias associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and with vascular dementias, contrasting them with memory decline resulting from normal aging. The second type consists of classic amnesic syndromes associated with limbic lesions of various etiologies such as Korsakoff's encephalopathy and traumatic brain injuries. The third type includes transient global, transient epileptic, and ECT-induced amnesias as well as the reversible psychogenic amnesias associated with dissociative and fugue states. These discussions are preceded by two introductory chapters that define the mnemonic and amnesic phenomena, classify the various memory systems and functions, and describe the putative brain circuitry underlying these functions, including molecular mechanisms, neurotransmitter systems, and the effects of stress-related hormones and drugs, with the aid of magnetic resonance images and anatomical drawings.