[A profound retrograde amnesia of almost 30 years and the role of organic, intentional and psychogenic factors].

A 57-year-old man was referred to the Department of Psychiatry & Psychology of a university hospital because of recurrent depressive episodes. He claimed to have had a total amnesia for approximately the first 30 years of his life following an incident resembling a fugue. This case of a focal retrograde amnesia shows the limitations of a dichotomic view of organic, psychogenic and intentional factors.