Brain (1998), 121, 1951–1973 Episodic memory and the self in a case of isolated retrograde amnesia B. Levine,1,3 S. E. Black, 1,2,3 R. Cabeza,1,3,* M. Sinden,2,† A. R. Mcintosh,1,3 J. P. Toth,1,3,‡ E. Tulving1,3 and D. T. Stuss1,3 1Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Correspondence to: Brian Levine, Rotman Research Care, North York, 2Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Bathurst 3University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Street, North York, Ontario, M6A 2E1, Canada. E-mail:
[email protected] Present addresses: *University of Alberta; †Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre; ‡Georgia Institute of Technology Summary Isolated retrograde amnesia is defined as impaired neuroimaging evidence of an association between right recollection of experiences pre-dating brain injury with frontal lobe functioning and episodic retrieval demands relatively preserved anterograde learning and memory. suggest that M.L.’s memory deficits are related to this We present findings from a patient (M.L.) with isolated focal injury. This hypothesis was supported by right retrograde amnesia following severe traumatic brain frontal polar hypoactivation in M.L. in response to injury (TBI) that address hypotheses of the inter- episodic retrieval demands when he was examined with 15 relationships of focal neuropathology, episodic memory a cognitive activation H2 O PET paradigm that reliably and the self. M.L. is densely amnesic for experiences activated this frontal region in both healthy controls and predating his injury, but shows normal anterograde patients with TBI carefully matched to M.L.