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In this research work, we propose to analyze the theme of amnesic disorders, experienced by the main character, Anna Heymes, in the crime novel “The Empire of wolves” by Jean- Christophe Grangé. For this, we will use Lacan's psychoanalysis, using key concepts such as the subject of the unconscious, the imaginary, the real and the symbolic. These will allow us to study the dreamlike universe of the protagonist, wife of a senior Parisian official – who is haunted by frightening visions and is in search of her identity – but also to explore in depth the recesses of her memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the traumas associated with the First World War, Giraudoux was particularly sensitive to amnesia, to the point of making it the main subject of a novel: Siegfried et le Limousin. Adapted to the scene in 1928, this novel contributed to author's fame and inaugurated his collaboration with Louis Jouvet. In fact, the principle of forgetfulness persists throughout the whole Giraudoux's work: comical, dramatic or poetic, and it is also the main pretext for a meditation on memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work demonstrates that the vivid memories of the colonial and postcolonial past of Cameroon feed the present conflict in the North West a nd S outh W est. B ut t hese a re d istorted memories, reorganized, reconstructed by time and circumstances. This work points out the origin of this resurgence in the political system set up after the independence, which lacked historical legitimacy and based its hegemonic power on an organized amnesia. The scientific balance today is a poor historical production, both in quality and quantity. Politically this is an armed conflict underpinned by a memory divide. To get out of such a memory conflict, this article proposes a return to historical scholarship from new paths, new hypotheses and above all from a crossed perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Résumé Connu internationalement pour sa découverte des neuroleptiques, Jean Delay (1907–1987) a aussi consacré une partie importante de ses travaux à la mémoire. Sa thèse de médecine sur les astéréognosies, où il a étudié les troubles de la reconnaissance par le toucher, est prolongée quelques années plus tard par sa thèse de philosophie, sous la direction de Pierre Janet, sur les dissolutions de la mémoire. Dans cette thèse, il propose une distinction entre les amnésies neurologiques et psychiatriques, en s’appuyant sur le concept de mémoire sociale forgé par Maurice Halbwachs. Cette question de la mémoire connaît un nouveau développement dans son œuvre littéraire avec la publication des quatre tomes d’ Avant mémoire . Dans ces ouvrages de sociobiographie, Jean Delay met en récit la vie de ses ancêtres maternels du Paris des Valois à celui de Napoléon III, en exhumant des documents d’archives et des actes notariés. Cette œuvre a été mise en parallèle avec celle de Marguerite Yourcenar dont Jean Delay fut le parrain silencieux à l’Académie française. Le cheminement personnel et psychologique de Jean Delay apparaît en filigrane au long de cet article. Known worldwide as the discover of neuroleptics, Jean Delay (1907–1987) dedicaded an important part of his work to memory. First his medical thesis entitled astereognosies is focused on the touch disorders. This work has been followed by a thesis of philosophy under the leadership of Pierre Janet, about memory disorders. Jean Delay proposed a classification of neurological and psychiatric memory disorders taking heed to Maurice Halbwachs’ work on collective memory. And the end of his life, as a writer, Jean Delay led an ambitious project. Thanks to his researches in French national Archives, he published in four volumes the history of his maternal ancestors from XVIth to XIXth century. This work has several connections with two of Marguerite Yourcenar's books: Dear Departed: A Memoir and How Many Years: A Memoir. Jean Delay supported the election of Marguerite Yourcenar at L’Académie française, the first woman to be elected at the prestigious French institution. Psychological traits of Jean Delay are also drawn in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate of the glutamate receptor encephalitis (NMDA-R) is a severe disorder, recently described, especially in young patients. The diagnosis is based on a clinical set of three associating seizure psychiatric disorders, epilepsy and anterograde amnesia, on irregularities on cerebral MRI and on a presence of antibody anti-NMDA in the blood and the cerebrospinal fluid. The treatment consists of the resection of the tumor in paraneoplasic cases and the prescription of immunosuppresseurs. We report the observation of a young 17-year-old patient admitted in urgency for faintness initially attribute to a viral meningitis self-limited biologically. Clinically, the patient presents behavior disorders with agitation, hypomania alternating with periods of catatonia and massive anxiety requiring the prescription of psychotropic drugs and orientation in psychiatry unity. The diagnosis of limbic encephalitis is made only three weeks later, further to the appearance of severe epileptic seizure requiring a passage in recovery unit. A treatment by antiepileptics and immunosuppressive drugs is setting up. Then, after clinical improvement, a medical care in rehabilitation center is initiated. After a neurobiological reminder, we describe the clinical catatonia and its evolution in DSM-V, then we approach the diagnostic complexity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: About two cases of retrograde amnesia with a total loss of episodic memory several years of life, we describe a singular transfer in the past; we discuss the nosography of functional or dissociative amnesia, the nature of the blockage of retrieval processes and the occurrence of very precise memories which project the patient some years before in his past. This phenomenon has been described in transient global amnesia, especially in those occurring after a small head trauma during sport. It may also occur in dissociative amnesia; these data lead to question the classical dichotomy between organic and functional amnesias. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: If we are indebted to Pitres for the term of ecmnesia, its current definition is restricted to the translation of a patient in his (her) past, heightened by a feeling of actually living it. Initially considered as a spontaneous hysterical phenomenon, or obtained by means of hypnosis, ecmnesia appears to be a neuropsychiatric syndrome which can also be due to organic etiologies. Meanwhile, the fascinating theme of age regression, and the popular success of many pseudo medical stories, coming from the US, explain the diffusion of the theme in literature and cinema. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In dissociative amnesia (DSM-IV), also referred to as psychogenic amnesia (DSM-III), the main disturbance consists of inability to recall personal information. Identity amnesia is observed in most cases. Dissociative disorder can sometimes be explained as a coping defensive strategy in subjects confronting a stressful situation recalling a situation that occurred during childhood (case JJ). Time of lacunar amnesia in these cases can be a psychopathologic cue. Recovery is possible and can be spectacular. Contextual cue (action, place, emotion) can induce recovery of similar scenes (or all recalls) of lost time, with autonoetic awareness and sometimes even instances of ecmnesia (case FF). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: The authors report an unusual case of anterograde amnesia after concurrent ingestion of alcohol and MDMA. Patients and methods: A 20-year-old woman, after ingesting alcohol and ecstasy during the course of an evening, was reported to have suffered from anterograde amnesia until the next morning. Alcohol determination in blood and urine was performed by HS-GC-FID, while amphetamines were detected by GC-MS and LC-MS/MS. Hair analysis for the determination of drugs involved in drug-facilitated crimes was performed by GC-MS and LC-MS/MS. Results: Blood and urine were sampled 36 hours after the event. Alcohol was not detected in blood or urine. MDMA and MDA were identified in both blood and urine. MDMA and MDA were detected in hair at concentrations of 602 and 42 pg/mg, respectively, only in the segment corresponding to the period of the event. Conclusion: This is an unusual case of anterograde amnesia following concurrent use of alcohol and MDMA. This case underlines that it could be of great interest to study in more detail the effects of MDMA and alcohol in humans when taken concurrently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Confabulations are inaccurate narratives purporting to convey information about the world or the self. Fantastic utterances from brain-injured patients are difficult to interpret as confabulation or delusion. Methods: Starting from two clinical observations, we analyse the terms “spontaneous confabulations” and “delusion”. Results: Two brain-injured patients presented with fantastic utterances; the adhesion was complete for both patients. They also suffered from amnesic and executive disorders. Clinical interviews with neuropsychologist and psychopathologist could not distinct between spontaneaous confabulations and delusion. Discussion: Neuropsychological interpretations of spontaneous confabulations are (1) the deficient strategic retrieval process arising from executive failures and (2) confusion of the temporal order of information within memory. These hypotheses cannot explain the fantastic utterances described. Are spontaneous fantastic confabulations a specific entity or did these patients present a morbid association of neurological and psychiatric disorders? Fantastic confabulations are very scarcely described and the association of neurological and psychiatric impairments enables us to better describe the clinical observations. Spontaneous confabulations reported after amnesic and executive disorders are indeed typically composed of the patient''s past experiences and do not usually comprehend fantastic utterances. Conclusion: Neurological and psychological analyses of the fantastic utterances from two brain-injured patients do not respond to the definition of spontaneous confabulation. Fantastic confabulations are a rare entity and we propose another explanation consisting of the association of neurological and psychiatric disorders. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Transitory amnesia, usually characterised as occurring brutally and being reversible, is currently considered as a dissociative disorder in the new international psychiatric classifications when no medical or neurological diseases have been identified. The dissociation is supposed to be linked to a sudden and transitory alteration of the integrative, consciousness, identity and motor functions. It is therefore essential to eliminate organic factors before searching for a psychogenic origin. The authors of the article are proposing an etiopathogenic and multidisciplinary approach of transitory amnesia based on a clinical case: after wandering for four days by train, Mr F., becoming anxious, consulted the A&E of the hospital at his partner''s request. The semiological characteristics of this incident, the depressive antecedents of the patient and the absence of neurological anomaly led us to give him psychiatric care. Dissociative amnesia is usually linked to a particular event or to a psychical traumatism. Beyond this phenomenological approach and in a psychodynamic perspective, it corresponds to forgetting a specific fact and can be considered as an unconscious outward sign, that is to say a defence of the psychical economy of the patient. As far as psychiatric nosography and hysteria are concerned, the psychiatrist will have to confront the enigmatic character of the symptoms. As no standardised therapeutic consensus exists, a psychodynamic approach is useful. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Introduction: The duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA), the period of altered memory that often follows traumatic brain injury (TBI), is a useful index of severity of TBI and a predictor of outcome after TBI. Yet, evaluating PTA in French-speaking brain-injured children is not standardized. Objective: We aimed to translate into the French language and standardize the Children’s Orientation and Amnesia Test (COAT), inspired by the Galveston Orientation and Amnesia Test (GOAT), which estimates PTA duration in adults. Method: Development of a French version of the COAT (COAT-VF) with 16 items: 7 of general orientation, 5 temporal orientation and 4 memory. Normative data were collected for 137 children aged 4, 6, 8 and 10 years who were attending school. Results: Performance on the COAT-VF was influenced by age and sociocultural factors but not sex. Conclusion: The COAT-VF, short and simple to administer, allows for an accurate evaluation of PTA duration in French children. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: All types of memory disorders have been observed in children, although these reports are rare. Developmental amnesia selectively involves episodic daily life memory while semantic learning is respected and general intelligence is not affected. Daily life is severely disturbed by this cognitive disorder usually occurring after hypoxic ischemic injury with bilateral hippocampal atrophy on MRI. Memory disorders are underdiagnosed in at-risk patients and rarely reported. We report on a former small-for-gestational-age preterm infant with no obvious hypoxic event during perinatal life. The follow-up was normal until elementary school. He had to spend 2 years in 1st grade and exhibited some behavioral troubles. At the age of 9, he was suspected of suffering from dyspraxia and was referred to a pediatrics rehabilitation center. IQ and neuropsychological tests were administered and showed selective autobiographical memory impairment defining developmental amnesia. Despite a typical clinical presentation, brain MRI was normal, including the hippocampal area. This observation underlines the need for a prolonged follow-up until school age to assess the outcome of preterm infants. Otherwise, the evaluation will be limited to motor impairment. Particular attention should be paid to memory during the follow-up to avoid misdiagnoses and to plan and adapt these children''s educational strategies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Hypnosis is a therapeutic tool which accompanies medicine since always, in varied forms. One of its characteristics is the core use associated with a technique with induction, which produces a “reviviscence” of the memory different from a simple “Re-memorizing”. This experiment is carried by the neurological phenomenon of synesthesia. A clinical example illustrates this proposal. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]