Citation

Bryant RA. J. Trauma. Stress 1996; 9(3): 621-629.

Affiliation

School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8827662

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is rarely diagnosed in patients with significant head injury. This paper reviews two patients who were amnesic for events surrounding their motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) but developed delayed-onset PTSD. Symptoms included vivid images of the MVAs that were based on information learnt following the trauma. These cases indicate that amnesic head injured patients can suffer pseudomemories that are phenomenologically similar to flashbacks observed in PTSD. Implications for understanding the nature of flashbacks are discussed.

Language: en