Amnesia
Amnesia is a temporary or permanent memory loss. People with amnesia have difficulty learning new information, and/or they have difficulty recalling previously learned information. They may be disoriented and confused. Their memory deficit causes problems for them either at work, in school, or in social settings. Amnesia affects both men and women and occurs at any age.
Causes of amnesia can include external trauma (such as a blow to the head), internal trauma, such as stroke, exposure to a toxic substances such as carbon monoxide, inadequate diet, brain tumors and seizures. There are some general types of amnesia:
- Anterograde. This form of amnesia is a result of brain trauma, which is characterized by the inability to remember new information. Although victims can recall events prior to the trauma with clarity, recent experiences and short-term memory disappear.
- Korsakoff Syndrome. It is known as inability to record new memory along with a defect in recent memory, usually accompanied by storytelling of fabricated events. It can be caused by head injury, stroke, encephalitis, deficiency of vitamin B, cancer of the brain, or poor blood supply to memory tissue in the brain. However, heavy drinking of alcohol, with resultant brain damage, is commonly the cause.
- Psychological Amnesia. Amnesia of psychological origin is very uncommon. A person disappears from home, job, and family, travels to a new place and assumes a new identity — all without being aware that anything has changed. After days or weeks the “awakening” occurs, the person becomes their old self, and wonders what happened. There is no memory of the period of amnesia. This type of amnesia is caused by anxiety. When the person is faced with high emotional stress or pain, the mind forgets the anxieties and everything related to them in order to protect itself.
- Retrograde. In some ways, this form of amnesia is the opposite of anterograde amnesia: the victim can recall events that occurred after a trauma, but cannot remember events before the trauma.
Treatment depends on the cause of amnesia and is handled on an individual basis. Psychotherapy can be helpful for people whose amnesia is caused by emotional trauma. For instance, hypnosis may help some patients/clients recall forgotten memories. Sometimes it is appropriate to administer a drug called Amytal which helps some people recall their lost memories. The use of hypnosis or Amytal has become controversial when it is used to help a patient recall repressed memories, especially if these memories are associated with sexual abuse. After recalling memories of abuse, some patients have filed suit against the alleged perpetrator of the sexual abuse. The validity of memories recalled under these treatment situations is being questioned and tested in the courts.
Hospitalization is usually not necessary to treat amnesia unless the person is at risk for harming himself/herself.
Amnesia is only preventable in so far as brain injury can be prevented or minimized. Common sense approaches include wearing a helmet when bicycling or participating in potentially dangerous sports, using automobile seat belts, and avoiding excessive alcohol or drug use. Brain infections should be treated swiftly to minimize the damage due to swelling. Victims of strokes, brain aneurysms, and transient ischemic attacks should seek immediate medical treatment.