Functional Consequences of Dissociative Amnesia 
The impairment of individuals with localized, selective, or systemat ized dissociative am-
nesia ranges from limited to severe. Individu als with chronic generalized dissociative am-
nesia usually have impairment in all aspects of functioning. Even when these individuals
“re-learn” aspects of their life history, au tobiographical memory remains very impaired.
Most become vocationally an d interpersonally disabled. 
Differential Diagnosis
Dissociative identity disorder. Individuals with dissociati ve amnesia may report de-
personalization and auto-hypnotic symptoms. In dividuals with dissociative identity dis-
order report pervasive disconti nuities in sense of self and agency, accompanied by many
other dissociative symptoms. The amnesias of individuals with localized, selective, and/
or systematized dissociative amnesias are relatively stable. Amnesias in dissociative iden-
tity disorder include amnesia for everyday events, finding of unexplained possessions,
sudden fluctuations in skills and knowledge, ma jor gaps in recall of life history, and brief
amnesic gaps in interpersonal interactions.
Posttraumatic stress disorder. Some individuals with PTSD cannot recall part or all of
a specific traumatic event (e.g., a rape victim  with depersonalization and/or derealization
symptoms who cannot recall most events for the entire day of the rape). When that amne-
sia extends beyond the immediat e time of the trauma, a comorbid diagnosis of dissociative
amnesia is warranted. 
Neurocognitive disorders. In neurocognitive disorders, memory loss for personal infor-
mation is usually embedded in cognitive, lingu istic, affective, atte ntional, and behavioral