Disorder characterised by extensive but selective memory loss that has no organic cause is referred to as ___________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Dissociative Amnesia
Option (1) Dissociative fugue — Incorrect. Fugue is a part of dissociative amnesia in which the person makes an unexpected travel away from home and workplace, takes on a new identity and cannot recall the old one. The question describes memory loss alone.
Option (2) Depersonalisation — Incorrect. Depersonalisation/derealisation disorder is a dreamlike state in which the person has a sense of being separated both from self and from reality. Memory is not lost.
Option (3) Conversion disorders — Incorrect. In conversion disorder the person suffers a loss or impairment of motor or sensory function, such as paralysis or blindness, with no physical cause. It is a somatic symptom disorder, not a loss of memory.
Option (4) Dissociative Amnesia — Correct. Dissociative amnesia is characterised by extensive but selective memory loss that has no known organic cause (such as a head injury).
NCERT (2025-26): “Dissociative Disorders … Dissociation can be viewed as severance of the connections between ideas and emotions. Dissociation involves feelings of unreality, estrangement, depersonalisation, and sometimes a loss or shift of identity. Sudden temporary alterations of consciousness that blot out painful experiences are a defining characteristic of dissociative disorders. Conditions included in this are Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative Identity Disorder, and Depersonalisation/Derealisation Disorder. Salient features of somatic symptom and related disorders and dissociative disorders are given in Box 4.1.…” “Dissociative Disorders … Dissociative amnesia is characterised by extensive but selective memory loss that has no known organic cause (e.g., head injury).…” “Dissociative Disorders … Depersonalisation/Derealisation disorder involves a dreamlike state in which the person has a sense of being separated both from self and from reality. In depersonalisation, there is a change of self-perception, and the person’s sense of reality is temporarily lost or changed.” |