Amnesia

From Psy3242

Amnesia Amnesia is a condition in which memory is disturbed. The causes of amnesia are organic or functional. Organic causes include damage to the brain, through an injury or disease, or use of certain 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. This global type of amnesia is more common in middle-aged to elderly people, particularly males, and usually lasts less than 24 hours. Although there are many types of amnesia, there are two main forms of it. Anterograde amnesia is where 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. Other types of amnesia include: Post-traumatic, dissociative, Child hood, Lacunar, etc.