Symptoms
The main symptom of memory distrust syndrome is the lack of belief in one's own memory, however this comes with the side effect of using outside sources for information. The individual may have their own memory, but will readily change it depending on chosen outside sources. The memories that they have may be correct, but due to their distrust they will still alter their belief of what is true if contrary information is suggested. For example, a person has a memory of a house and recalls it to be white. Then, a trusted family member begins talking with them and suggests that it was red instead. The afflicted individual will then believe the house was red despite their recollection of it being white. It is unknown if the person's memory of the house is permanently altered; however, they will say that the house was red regardless of the memory's condition. Also, this does not necessarily allow for confabulatory memory fabrication. Currently it is not believed that an afflicted individual will readily believe an outside source on a memory of which the person is not involved, such as a randomly shared story. This further suggests that memory distrust syndrome solely alters the individual's currently retrievable memories, and not randomized information.Causes
It is normal to have some level of memory distrust, or the lack of trusting in one's own memory. This may occur when speaking with your parents about your childhood, for example. However it seems that everyone has their own level of memory distrust, and memory distrust syndrome seems to be a severe case. The direct cause is unknown; however, it is possibly a defense or coping mechanism to a preexisting condition that would alter one's memory. This could involve frontal lobe lesions, Alzheimer's disease, amnesia, dementia, or other conditions. Any condition that would alter either existing memories or the formation of new memories could cause a coping scheme such as memory distrust syndrome. Alternatively, an individual may have learned over time to not trust their own memory from conditioning, and as such the individual would develop a defense mechanism to remove themselves from potential embarrassment.Mechanisms
Not to be confused withTypes of false memory
Spontaneous confabulation
These occur typically in cases of amnesia and frontal lobe disorders. In "spontaneous" confabulations, there is a persistent, unprovoked outpouring of false memories in which intrusion errors or distortions are seen in response to a challenge to memory. They occur most commonly during autobiographical recall, but can occur other times as well. These errors occur in one of two ways: either there is an "editing error" or there is a "source" error. There are several ideas as to why this editing error may occur. *an issue with the rules of plausibility and association during memory retrieval, leaving the retrieved memory to be "uninhibited" or "suppressed". *a failure in the evaluation process of accessed memories. This is similar to Moscovitch's idea, although his focuses on one's capability of judgment while this one focuses on the judgment itself. *spontaneous confabulation occurred due to "the completely incoherent and context-free retrieval of memories and associations.” *a deficit in three processes (description, editing, and mediator) which all contributed to confabulations in different ways. Source errors are focused around the creation of the original memory or the memory storage process rather than the processes discussed above. These are less studied because they involve several variables including how an individual learns and perceives their environment, the environment itself, distractions, the individual's weighing of important information, etc.Delusional memories and delusions
These occur in psychiatric patients or individuals with psychiatric conditions.Diagnostic tests
Since the cause of memory distrust syndrome is unknown, there is no ultimate test to determine diagnosis. However, the following tests all involve memory accuracy, memory trust, and suggestibility.Squire Subjective Memory Questionnaire
The Squire Subjective Memory Questionnaire if a self-report scale consisting of 18 items tapping subjective evaluations of one's own memory. Items are scored on a 9-point scale (−4=disastrous; 4=perfect). Sample items are 'My ability to remember things that have happened more than a year ago is...' and 'My ability to recall things when I really try is...' Scores are summed to obtain a total SSMQ score varying from −72 to 72, with negative scores corresponding with pessimistic judgments about one's own memory and positive scores reflecting optimistic memory evaluations.Cognitive Failures Questionnaire
The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire is a self-report scale that taps failures in everyday actions, perception and attention, and memory over the last month. It consists of 25 items that are scored on a 5-point scale (0=never; 4=very often). Illustrative items are 'Do you fail to notice signposts on the road?' and 'Do you forget where you put something like a newspaper or a book?' Scores are summed to obtain a total CFQ score varying from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more self-reported cognitive failures.Gudjonsson Compliance Scale
The Gudjonsson Compliance Scale is a self-report instrument that measures peoples' levels of compliance. It focuses on two types of behavior, namely eagerness to please others, and avoidance of conflicts. The scale consists of 20 items using a true/false format. Examples are 'I give in easily to people when I am pressured' and 'I try hard to do what is expected of me'. After recoding items 17 to 19, a total GCS score varying from 0 to 20 can be obtained by summing the number of true responses, with higher scores indexing more compliant behavior.Gudjonsson suggestibility scale
The Gudjonsson suggestibility scale (GSS) is used to measure interrogative suggestibility. The GSS consists of a story that is read out loud by a test administer. Participants then have to answer 20 questions of which 15 are misleading and 5 are neutral and address factual details of the story. After participants have answered the questions, they receive negative feedback about their performance. They are asked to answer the questions one more time and to be more accurate this time. Thus, all questions are answered twice and in this way several GSS parameters can be calculated. First, yield 1 refers to the number of misleading questions that the participant accepts during the first round (range 0–15). Second, yield 2 refers to the number of misleading questions accepted during the second round (range 0–15). Third, shift refers to the number of changes that participants make in their answers after having received negative feedback (range 0–20). Finally, the total GSS score is the sum of yield 1 and shift, with higher scores reflecting higher levels of interrogative suggestibility (range 0–35).Management
People diagnosed with memory distrust syndrome are not necessarily functionally impaired in any way, though it is often associated with other detrimental memory conditions. They can perform basic everyday tasks and take care of themselves. However, they may have difficulty remembering details from their memory. New memories are created and stored just as easily as anyone else, assuming no prior condition exists that would prevent that.Society and culture
Memory distrust disorder has been shown to cause false confessions in court cases. This occurs when the suggestible individual is asked a question which leads them to believe that their recollection is incorrect. Due to their suggestibility and lack of trust in their own memory, they will either alter their own memory or be unsure of specific details. A similar situation can occur while being interrogated by the authorities. The court system assumes that everyone is innocent until proven guilty; however, many times individuals are arrested for suspicion, which would simply require a motive and the lack of anSee also
* Amnesia * Delirium * Guðmundur and Geirfinnur case *References
Further reading
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Psychopathological syndromes