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Amnesia for childhood in patients with unexplained neurological symptoms

In a preliminary study, we tested the hypothesis that patients with medically unexplained symptoms attending the clinic of a general adult neurologist would have delayed earliest and continuous memories compared with patients whose symptoms were explained by neurological disease. Depression, adverse childhood experience, and low socioeconomic status have all been associated both with poor memory of childhood. Because these variables are also associated with medically unexplained symptoms we hypothesised that we would find a link between unexplained symptoms and impaired memories of childhood.

One hundred consecutive neurology outpatients were asked the question “What is the very first thing that you can remember?” and “How old were you at the time?”. They were then asked “From what age from could you produce your own life story, biography, or CV without help from a parent or relative?” and “Do you have blanks in your memory?”. Neurological diagnoses were recorded and the patient completed the brief assessment scale for depression cards (BASDEC) scale for depression.1 This simple self rated …