Flashback phenomena. Clinical and diagnostic dilemmas.

The study of flashback phenomena has been neglected in recent years. A case study and a subsequent literature review examine areas about which conflicting opinions exist. Epidemiological studies have not arrived at universally acceptable classificatory schemes. Clinical approaches vary in accounts of phenomenology of the syndrome and the typology of personalities involved. Etiology remains unknown in spite of numerous theories, most of them not experimentally tested. Diagnostic studies may benefit from recent technological advances such as continuous electroencephalogram, computerized axial tomography scan, cerebral blood flow, and neuropsychological tests. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd Edition, does not seem to provide an adequate taxonomic niche for this disorder. Therapeutic interventions are examined and their results critically analyzed.