Amnesia

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of acute pain on long-term memory and conditioned physiologic responses in the presence and absence of low dose nitrous oxide. Functional magnetic resonance imaging will be used to identify the neural correlates of these phenomena. The study will occur over 2 visits and involves no long-term follow up.

THE STUDY AIMS to constitute the largest group of patients with major memory impairment resulting from various etiology and specific lesions of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and use a combined psychometric and neuroimaging approach to study the factors allowing these patients to successfully learn new semantic information.

Studies suggest an association between retinal abnormalities and NCD (Neuro Cognitive Disorders) whether they are linked to proven or prodromal Alzheimer's disease (aMCI : amnestic mild cognitive impairment), or to other neurodegenerative diseases such as frontotemporal dementia or Lewy body diseases. These retinal anomalies objectified by OCT-A (Optical coherence tomography angiography) and adaptive optics (AO) appear different depending on the pathologies and could therefore serve as markers in vivo of the pathophysiological processes underlying NCD. No study to date has studied the retina and its vessels in NCD using adaptive optics. In this pilot study, we are proposing a combination of two new ophthalmological imaging techniques (OCT-A and AO), which allow rapid in vivo analysis in a completely non-invasive way of the morphology of small vessels as well as architecture of the retina to better specify the retinal anomalies associated with NCD. We will compare the parameters in OCT-A and AO between patients with NCD and controls without NCD (with memory complaint or without) and will seek to determine if there are different profiles according to the causes of NCD.