Re: amnesia question(s)

[Rikikoenig]

In a message dated 1/23/06 2:15:27 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: In the episode he receives as severe blow to the head and is tossed in the back >of a flatbed truck (already a gross inaccuracy because the driver did not check >his load before getting in the cab and pulling away...but that's not psychology >stuff). > >So eventually the truck stops, Monk wakes up in another town and he doesn't know >who is he. His semantic memory is perfect but his episodic memory is not; >although he does still have OCD behaviors, but when questionned about them >makes up excuses. In one scene he separates all his food into separeate piles >and when asked why he is doing that he says it's a religious ritual. Anyway, >that aside, how does the course of amnesia usually go? > >Also, at one point, back at the office, his psychiatrist is consulting with the >police on Monk missing status in his usual life and says he would be having a >dissociative episode. Now that sounds totally wrong to me. Right? What they seem to be describing is a fugue state, which is a dissociative disorder.  On TV, it's usually attributed to head trauma, but from a psychiatric point of view, it's usually a response to a psychological trauma.  In such a conditon, he would have loss of episodic memory but usually not declarative or skill memory.   Riki Koenigsberg [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: archive@jab.org To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]