The Petrified Self 10 Years After: Current Evidence for Mnemonic anosognosia

Sabrina Lenzoni; Robin G Morris; Daniel C Mograbi

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00465

The Petrified Self 10 Years After: Current Evidence for Mnemonic anosognosia

Front Psychol. 2020 Mar 17:11:465. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00465. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Sabrina Lenzoni¹, Robin G Morris², Daniel C Mograbi^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
² Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.

Abstract

Lack of awareness about disease, its symptoms and consequences, also termed anosognosia, is a common feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It has been hypothesized that memory disorder may be a key contributing factor to anosognosia, with people with AD not being able to update their personal information about performance and relying on older consolidated material about ability. This potentially outdated sense of self has been named, as a metaphor, the petrified self. In the current review, evidence from the past 10 years in relation to this concept is critically appraised. In particular, focus is given to empirical evidence produced on anterograde memory deficits about performance, the profile of autobiographical retrograde memory loss and the role of frontal lobes in anosognosia in AD. Finally, wider consequences of this metaphor for the understanding of selfhood in dementia are discussed.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; anosognosia; awareness; dementia; memory.

Publication types

Review