Amnesia 234950 224831014 2008-07-10T16:42:12Z 68.175.122.161 Obviously these sentences should be reversed {{otheruses}} {{Infobox_Disease | Name = {{PAGENAME}} | Image = | Caption = | DiseasesDB = | ICD10 = {{ICD10|R|41|3|r|40}} | ICD9 = {{ICD9|780.9}}, {{ICD9|780.93}} | ICDO = | OMIM = | MedlinePlus = | eMedicineSubj = | eMedicineTopic = | MeshID = D000647 | }} '''Amnesia''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''{{polytonic|Ἀμνησία}}'') is a condition in which [[memory]] is disturbed. In simple terms it is the loss of memory. The causes of amnesia are organic or functional. Organic causes include damage to the brain, through trauma or disease, or use of certain (generally sedative) drugs. Functional causes are psychological factors, such as [[defense mechanisms]]. Hysterical post-traumatic amnesia is an example of this. Amnesia may also be spontaneous, in the case of [[transient global amnesia]].<ref>[http://www.emedicine.com/neuro/topic380.htm eMedicine - Transient Global Amnesia : Article by Roy Sucholeiki<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> This global type of amnesia is more common in middle-aged to elderly people, particularly males, and usually lasts less than 24 hours. Another effect of amnesia is the inability to imagine the future. A recent study published online in the ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]'' shows that amnesiacs with damaged [[hippocampus|hippocampus]] cannot imagine the future.<REF>[http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0610561104v1 Patients with hippocampal amnesia cannot imagine new experiences], ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.</ref> This is because when a normal human being imagines the future, they use their past experiences to construct a possible scenario. For example, a person who would try to imagine what would happen at a party that would occur in the near future would use their past experience at parties to help construct the event in the future. ==Forms of amnesia== * In '''[[anterograde amnesia]]''', new events contained in the immediate memory are not transferred to the permanent as long-term memory. The sufferer will not be able to remember anything that occurs after the onset of this type of amnesia for more than a brief period following the event. * '''[[Retrograde amnesia]]''' is the inability to recall some memory or memories of the past, beyond ordinary forgetfulness. The terms are used to categorize patterns of symptoms, rather than to indicate a particular cause or [[etiology]]. Both categories of amnesia can occur together in the same patient, and commonly result from drug effects or damage to the brain regions most closely associated with [[episodic memory|episodic]]/[[declarative memory]]: the medial [[temporal lobe]]s and especially the [[hippocampus]]. An example of mixed retrograde and anterograde amnesia may be a motorcyclist unable to recall driving his motorbike prior to his head injury (retrograde amnesia), nor can he recall the hospital ward where he is told he had conversations with family over the next two days (anterograde amnesia). ==Types/causes of amnesia== '''[[Post-traumatic amnesia]]''' is generally due to a [[traumatic brain injury|head injury]] (e.g. a fall, a knock on the head). Traumatic amnesia is often transient, but may be permanent of either anterograde, retrograde, or mixed type. The extent of the period covered by the amnesia is related to the degree of injury and may give an indication of the prognosis for recovery of other functions. [[Mild traumatic brain injury|Mild trauma]], such as a car accident that results in no more than mild whiplash, might cause the occupant of a car to have no memory of the moments just before the accident due to a brief interruption in the short/long-term memory transfer mechanism. The sufferer may also lose knowledge of who people are, they may remember events, but will not remember faces of them. *'''[[Psychogenic amnesia|Dissociative Amnesia]]''' results from a psychological cause as opposed to direct damage to the brain caused by head injury, physical trauma or disease, which is known as organic amnesia. [[Psychogenic amnesia|Dissociative Amnesia]] can include: :*'''[[Repressed memory]]''' refers to the inability to recall information, usually about stressful or traumatic events in persons' lives, such as a violent attack or rape. The memory is stored in long term memory, but access to it is impaired because of psychological defense mechanisms. Persons retain the capacity to learn new information and there may be some later partial or complete recovery of memory. This contrasts with e.g. anterograde amnesia caused by amnestics such as benzodiazepines or alcohol, where an experience was prevented from being transferred from temporary to permanent memory storage: it will never be recovered, because it was never stored in the first place. Formerly known as "Psychogenic Amnesia" :*'''[[Fugue state|Dissociative Fugue]]''' (''formerly'' Psychogenic Fugue) is also known as fugue state. It is caused by psychological trauma and is usually temporary, unresolved and therefore may return. The [[Merck Manual]] defines it as "one or more episodes of amnesia in which the inability to recall some or all of one's past and either the loss of one's identity or the formation of a new identity occur with sudden, unexpected, purposeful travel away from home." <REF>[http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/section15/chapter188/188c.jsp The Merck Manuals Online]</ref> While popular in fiction, it is extremely rare. :* '''Posthypnotic amnesia''' is where events during [[hypnosis]] are forgotten, or where past memories are unable to be recalled. :* '''[[Lacunar amnesia]]''' is the loss of memory about one specific event. :* '''[[Childhood amnesia]]''' (also known as infantile amnesia) is the common inability to remember events from one's own childhood. [[Sigmund Freud]] attributed this to sexual repression, while others have theorised that this may be due to [[language development]] or immature parts of the brain. * '''[[Transient global amnesia]]''' is a well-described medical and clinical phenomenon. This form of amnesia is distinct in that abnormalities in the [[hippocampus]] can sometimes be visualized using a special form of [[magnetic resonance imaging]] of the brain known as [[diffusion-weighted imaging]] (DWI). Symptoms typically last for less than a day and there is often no clear precipitating factor nor any other neurological deficits. The cause of this syndrome is not clear, hypotheses include transient reduced blood flow, possible seizure or an atypical type of migraine. Patients are typically amnestic of events more than a few minutes in the past, though immediate recall is usually preserved. *'''[[Source amnesia]]''' is a memory disorder in which someone can recall certain information, but they do not know where or how they obtained the information. *'''[[Memory distrust syndrome]]''' is a term invented by the psychologist [[Gisli Gudjonsson]] to describe a situation where someone is unable to trust their own memory. *'''[[Blackout (Alcohol Related Amnesia)|Blackout phenomenon]]''' can be caused by excessive short-term alcohol consumption, with the amnesia being of the anterograde type. *'''[[Korsakoff's syndrome]]''' can result from long-term alcoholism or malnutrition. It is caused by brain damage due to a Vitamin B1 deficiency and will be progressive if alcohol intake and nutrition pattern are not modified. Other neurological problems are likely to be present in combination with this type of Amnesia. Korsakoff's syndrome is also known to be connected with [[confabulation]]. *'''[[Drug-induced amnesia]]''' is intentionally caused by injection of an amnesiac drug to help a patient forget surgery or medical procedures, particularly those which are not performed under full anesthesia. Such drugs are also referred to as "premedicants." Memories of the short time frame in which the procedure was performed are permanently lost; otherwise, memory is not affected. == Amnesia in fiction == {{main|List of appearances of amnesia in fiction}} Amnesia is prevalent in many works of fiction. [[Global amnesia]] is a common motif in fiction despite being extraordinarily rare in reality. In movies and television, particularly [[sitcom|sitcoms]] and [[soap opera|soap operas]], it is often depicted that a second hit to the head (similar to the first one) cures the amnesia. In reality, however, repeat [[concussion]]s may cause cumulative deficits including [[cognitive]] problems, and in extremely rare cases may even cause deadly [[cerebral edema|swelling of the brain]] associated with [[second-impact syndrome]]. == See also == * [[Betrayal#Betrayal trauma|Betrayal Trauma]] * [[Clive Wearing]] * [[Emotion and memory]] * [[False memory]] * [[HM (patient)]] * [[Sywald Skeid|Mr. Nobody]] * [[Doug Bruce]] * [[KC (patient)]] ==References== {{reflist}} {{Cognition, perception, emotional state and behaviour symptoms and signs}} [[Category:Memory disorders]] [[Category:Greek loanwords]] [[ar:نسيان]] [[bs:Amnezija]] [[cs:Amnézie]] [[da:Amnesi]] [[de:Amnesie]] [[et:Amneesia]] [[es:Amnesia]] [[eo:Amnezio]] [[fr:Amnésie]] [[ko:기억 상실]] [[hr:Amnezija]] [[id:Amnesia]] [[it:Amnesia]] [[he:אמנזיה]] [[kk:Амнезия]] [[ku:Amnezî]] [[hu:Amnézia]] [[nl:Geheugenverlies]] [[ja:健忘]] [[nn:Amnesi]] [[pl:Amnezja organiczna]] [[pt:Amnésia]] [[qu:Pusullu]] [[ru:Амнезия]] [[simple:Amnesia]] [[sk:Amnézia]] [[sl:Amnezija]] [[sr:Амнезија]] [[fi:Amnesia]] [[sv:Amnesi]] [[tr:Amnezi]] [[uk:Амнезія]] [[zh:健忘症]]