Functional MRI of memory in transient global amnesia

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of functional MRI (fMRI) in the investigation of transient global amnesia (TGA). MRI of the brain was performed on normal subjects and a patient with TGA. fMR images were obtained of left temporal and frontal regions of the brain. A 55-year-old woman was studied during a 6-h period of amnesia and again 2 weeks later, when memory had returned to normal. In all cases, memory testing was conducted during fMRI using a version of the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test. During TGA, the patient showed little or no activation during list learning or recognition testing. After her TGA had resolved, she demonstrated normal list learning and recognition. As in the healthy subjects, activation in the temporal region occurred during both list learning and recognition, whereas frontal activation was seen more often during recognition testing.