Amnesia

Harold P. Colon

Amnesia
from the Greek word amnsi, which means
forgetfulness; or from amnstos, which
means not remembered
It is a severe impairment of memory;
It refers to the difficulty of learning new
information or in remembering the past;
an inability to recall information that is stored
in memory

Amnesia
It may be mild or severe, permanent or
transitory, and may involve either anterograde
or retrograde defects as their most obvious
feature.
may be Organic/Neurological or Functional

Organic / Neurological Amnesia

is characterized by a loss of declarative memory

Declarative memory refers to the conscious
knowledge of facts and events.

It occurs following brain injury or disease that

damages the areas of our brain that create
memories: the cortex -- particularly in the
temporal lobe and the hippocampus.
It causes severe difficulty in learning new facts
and events;
It may also cause some difficulty in remembering
facts and events that were acquired before the
onset of amnesia

Organic / Neurological Amnesia

Several causes:

Head injury, tumor, stroke, viral infection, brief loss of blood

or oxygen flow to the brain, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT
used to treat severe depression, and alcohol abuse
causing thiamine deficiency.

Bilateral temporal lobe disease, inflammatory and

degenerative diseases of the brain which causes dementia,
temporal lobe tumours, herpes encephalitis, severe anoxia
or hypoglycaemia, and in some cases, bilateral rostral
leucotomy.

Functional or Psychogenic Amnesia

is rarer kind of amnesia than of the neurological

amnesia

can occur as the result of an emotional trauma

is characterized by a profound retrograde amnesia

with little or no anterograde amnesia.

causes are psychological factors, such as defense

mechanisms

Usually, memory about the past is lost, especially

autobiographical memory and even personal
identity.

Functional or Psychogenic Amnesia

This is caused by an emotional shock, such as:
Being the victim of a violent crime.
Sexual abuse.
Child abuse.
Being involved in combat (soldiers).
Being involved in a natural disaster.
Being present during a terrorist act.
The list is endless - basically, any intolerable life
situation which causes severe psychological
stress and internal conflict.

Different types of amnesia:

Anterograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia
Transient global amnesia
Global amnesia
Traumatic amnesia
Dissociative amnesia
Korsakoffs syndrome

Anterograde Amnesia
from the Latin word antero which means
forward
It is the inability to form new memories after the
onset of an illness

It is characterized by an inability to learn new

information with an associated inability to learn
new skills and to retain the knowledge of events
after the onset of the amnesic period

Retrograde Amnesia
from the Latin word retro which means
backward.
It is the loss of memory before a particular event
has occurred.
It is the difficulty in recalling events that occurred
before the injury.
The patient cannot remember events that
occurred before his/her trauma, but remembers
things that happened after it normally.

Transient Global Amnesia

a temporary loss of memory.
this is a very rare form of amnesia.
patient tends to be older, and usually has a vascular
disease (a problem with the blood vessels).
Is a distinct type of amnesia where abnormalities in
the hippocampus can sometimes be visualized using
a special form of MRI of the brain known as
diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).
Symptoms typically last for less than a day.
The cause is not clear.

Global Amnesia
A total memory loss.
This may be a defense mechanism which occurs after
a traumatic event.
Post-traumatic stress disorder can also involve the
spontaneous, vivid retrieval of unwanted traumatic
memories.

Traumatic Amnesia
Is generally due to a head injury
It is often transient; duration of the amnesia is related
to the degree of injury and may give an indication of

the prognosis for recovery of other functions.

Dissociative Amnesia
it is when one loses the ability to remember who
oneself is. It is a common type of amnesia in a
popular culture.
it may or may not be a real phenomenon
occurs when a person blocks out certain information,
usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event,
leaving him or her unable to remember important
personal information.
no particular brain structure or brain system is
implicated

Korsakoffs Syndrome:
named after Sergei Korsakoff, the neuropsychiatrist
who popularized the theory.
type of memory loss that is caused by extended
alcohol abuse
disorder tends to be progressive - it gradually gets
worse and worse over time
The patients conscious state was clear and retains
a good deal of past events, though tend to lose
chronological order
Patients often shows disorientation to time and
place

Korsakoffs Syndrome:
Patients may confabulate fill a gap in memory

with a falsification that they seem to accept as true.

Main cause is lack of the vitamin B Thiamine,
diseased mamillary bodies, as well as some
damage in the dorsomedial thalamus and basal
frontal lobes.

What are the symptoms?

The ability to learn new information following the

onset of amnesia is impaired.

The ability to remember past events and previously

familiar information is impaired.

False memories - these may be either completely

invented or made up of real memories misplaced in

time. (Confabulation).

Problems with short-term memory.

Partial loss of memory.

What are the symptoms of Amnesia?

Total loss of memory

Failure to recognize faces

Failure to recognize places
Note:
Amnesia is different from dementia. Although
dementia includes memory loss, it also involves

other important cognitive problems which may affect

the patient's ability to carry out daily activities.