Emotional arousal and phobia in transient global amnesia
D. Inzitari, L. Pantoni, M. Lamassa, S. Pallanti, G. Pracucci and P. Marini
Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Florence, Italy. neuroinz@cesit1.unifi.it
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of emotionally stressful or phobogenic
events and phobic personality traits in transient global amnesia (TGA).
DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Tertiary care center. PATIENTS:
Fifty-one case patients with TGA (mean +/- SD age, 62.7 +/- 6.7 years)
compared with 51 control patients with transient ischemic attacks (mean +/-
SD age, 63.8 +/- 6.7 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Precipitant factors,
life events, and phobic attitudes. RESULTS: Of the 25 TGA attacks that were
triggered by a precipitant, 11 were possibly related to emotionally
stressful or phobogenic situations. On a scale that measured phobic
attitudes, the case patients with TGA scored significantly higher than the
control patients with transient ischemic attacks (mean +/- SD total score,
15.21 +/- 11.0 vs 4.41 +/- 5.2; P < .001 by corrected analysis of
variance for age, sex, and education). The amount of stressful live events
in the year that preceded the attack did not differ between the case
patients with TGA and the control patients with transient ischemic attacks.
CONCLUSION: The results support the hypothesis that emotional arousal and
phobia are involved in TGA.
