Flashbulb memories in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

Purpose: Flashbulb memories (FMs) are vivid and stable autobiographical memories associated with learning surprising news of high emotional impact. Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) can have autobiographical memory deficits. This is the first investigation of FMs in TLE applying a consistency measure of FM quality controlling for confabulation. Method: A sample of 12 patients with TLE and a matched group of 15 healthy controls (HCs) were tested on an FM test including a retest procedure. Scores of FM consistency were obtained by comparing answers across both testing occasions. Results: In patients with TLE, FM consistency scores were significantly lower than in HCs. Exploratory subgroup analyses revealed FM deficits in both patients with left TLE and patients with right TLE compared with HCs. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the FMs of patients with TLE are less consistent than those of healthy control subjects. Future investigations with larger samples are desirable, especially regarding separate analyses of patients with left TLE and patients with right TLE. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.