Contributor: Chris Holmes MD

Educational Pearls:

• “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards” – Transient Global Amnesia

  • A syndrome with sudden retrograde memory loss in which patients cannot retain new information

  • Characterized by perseveration in frequent intervals

  • Typically improves within hours

  • MRI is normal initially

• Alice In Wonderland Syndrome

  • A disorder in which patients experience distortions in their visual perceptions

  • Most often characterized by micropsia and/or macropsia

  • Other symptoms may include illusory movement or wavy lines

• Alice in Wonderland as a metaphor for birth

  • Traveling down the rabbit hole is conception

  • Alice getting bigger in a confined space is pregnancy

  • Drinking potions is amniotic fluid

  • Escaping to explore a scary world is childbirth

References

1. Blom JD. Alice in wonderland syndrome. Alice Wonderl Syndr. 2019;(June):1-221. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-18609-8

2. Ropper M.D. AH. Transient Global Amnesia. N Engl J Med. 2023;(388):635-640. doi:10.1056/NEJMra2213867

Summarized by Jorge Chalit, OMSII | Edited by Meg Joyce & Jorge Chalit, OMSII