Psychogenic amnesia, classified as dissociative amnesia in DSM-IV, has been little studied in the literature. It is said that failure in early diagnosis makes this disorder resistant to treatment. 52y/o male showed anterograde and retrograde amnesia and short-term memory disturbance two months after the operation of esophageal carcinoma without a loss of personal identity and information. Since the patient's neuropsychological features were suggestive of organic amnesia and his procedural memory was preserved, “a memory note training” was administered. His behavioral responses to this training were indicative of psychogenic amnesia. Counseled by the physiatrist, the patient's wife accepted psychiatric treatment, and so did the patient. Confrontation with cancer would have been a precipitating stress. We emphasize the importance of behavioral responses to the memory training in differentiating psychogenic amnesia from organic amnesia. Physiatrists should play an importance role in diagnosis and introduction of treatment of psychiatric disorders.
