Doctor blames nightmare for man's amnesia
But other medical experts skeptical of doctor's claim
BOSTON, Massachusetts (AP) -- A man developed temporary amnesia from the shock of dreaming that his son was killed in combat in Iraq, even though the young man was fine and not even in the military, according to a report in a medical journal.
Dream-induced amnesia would be highly unusual. Amnesia is typically caused by a physical insult to the brain -- a blow to the head, an alcohol blackout, an infection.
Dr. Mark Marinella at Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, reported the amnesia case in a letter to the editor in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. To buttress his explanation, he cited a classic psychoanalytic study by Sigmund Freud of a patient who developed amnesia from the shock of her father's death.
Other specialists were skeptical of the Ohio doctor's report. They said a tiny stroke or some other undetected physical event in the brain was a much more likely cause of the amnesia.
In his letter to the journal, Marinella, a clinical associate professor in the internal medicine department, said the 61-year-old patient came to the emergency room with his wife, who was alarmed because he could not remember what he did the night before. Also, he was unable to keep new memories for more than a few minutes.
Doctors ran a series of tests, including a brain scan, and could find no reason for the patient's amnesia. "He repeatedly inquired, 'Did I have a stroke?' and stated, 'I can't remember anything,"' Marinella reported.
He said that on the second day at the hospital, he was able to remember his nightmare. He had dreamed that his son, who was contemplating joining the military in reality, went into the Marines and died in combat. In the dream, the father vividly saw his son in a casket draped with an American flag. The father woke up screaming.
The patient was released and seems to be well since, Marinella reported.
He concluded that it may be helpful to ask amnesic patients about their dreams.
Robert Krikorian, a neuropsychologist at the University of Cincinnati, said the dream theory is "not completely inconceivable, but so far out there that there are other much more likely explanations."
Copyright 2004 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
