What is amnesia or amnesiac syndrome?
Amnesia represents memory loss. If you have amnesia, you may not recall past information (retrograde amnesia) and hold onto new information (anterograde amnesia). Amnesia, in the Greek language, means "forgetfulness." However, amnesia is more complicated and strict than everyday forgetfulness. Forgetting what your life partner asked you to pick up at the big bazaar is "normal." However, inattention to the fact that you are married can be a sign of amnesia. Fortunately, amnesia is usually not that rigid in real life. Indian movies that include Sadma or Ghazani are examples of amnesiac roles.
Amnesia is a condition in which a person is unfit to remember specific information, such as past events, personal information, or even their own identity. Several factors, including physical trauma, psychological trauma, or a medical condition, cause such a neurological disorder. Amnesia can be either temporary or permanent and range from mild to severe.
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How prevalent is amnesia, and who gets it?
Alzheimer's disease, for instance, can cause amnesia. Dementia, strokes, and traumatic brain injuries are other forms of brain disease.
What are the different types of amnesia?
There are different names for amnesia and amnesia syndromes. Here are a few frequent terms you may encounter:
- Retrograde Amnesia:
Retrograde amnesia happens when you can not recall memories before the event that caused the amnesia. It typically affects recently stored memories rather than those from years ago. Another type of amnesia is retrograde amnesia which is the inability to recall memories before the trauma. A traumatic event, such as a stroke, brain injury, or psychological disturbance, can result in retrograde amnesia. People with retrograde amnesia may be able to remember events after the trauma, but they are unfit to recall memories from before the trauma.
Alzheimer’s disease or dementia causes amnesia. In these cases, the person may experience both anterograde and retrograde amnesia. Amnesia can impact a person’s life and affect their ability to function in everyday life. Medical treatment for amnesia depends on the cause and may include medications, psychotherapy, or lifestyle changes.
- Anterograde Amnesia:
Anterograde Amnesia occurs when you can not form new memories after the event that caused the amnesia. Anterograde amnesia is accepted more than retrograde. The most common type of amnesia is anterograde amnesia, which is the inability to form new memories. Physical trauma, including head injury, or psychological trauma, such as trauma, can cause anterograde amnesia. People with anterograde amnesia may be able to remember events that happened before the trauma, but they are unfit to form new memories.
- Post-traumatic Amnesia:
A significant head injury can result in post-traumatic amnesia. Anterograde amnesia, retrograde amnesia, or both may be present.
- Transient Global Amnesia:
The amnesia occurs both retrogradely and anterogradely. It takes up to 24 hours for memory loss to occur suddenly.
- Infantile Amnesia:
Infantile amnesia describes the fact that people can not recall memories of events from early childhood. In the early years of life, few people have memories because their brains are still developing memory areas.
Dissociative Amnesia or Psychogenic Amnesia:
Dissociative amnesia is a mental disorder where you experience amnesia after a significant trauma. You remove both the personal information and the traumatic incident from your memory.
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| Treating Dissociative Amnesia |
Why does amnesia happen?
The two crucial causes of amnesia are neurological and functional. The most typical explanations are listed below.
- Neurological amnesia
- Brain damage
- trauma caused by a vehicle accident, sports injury, ladder fall, piercing item (such as a bullet), etc.
- Brain conditions:
- Dementias such as Alzheimer's disease.
- Stroke.
- Seizure.
- brain cancer
Infection of the brain
- Encephalitis.
- Lyme illness
- Syphilis.
- HIV/AIDS.
- Other:
- Anoxia (lack of oxygen).
- Coronary arrest
- thyroid problems.
- A drinking disorder.
- A deficiency in either vitamin B1 (thiamine) or B12 (cyanocobalamin).
- Radiation.
- Excessive corticosteroid levels
Functional/Psychogenic/Dissociative Amnesia.
Neurological amnesia is more prevalent than functional amnesia, a mental disease. It does not appear to be caused by any known brain trauma or illness but rather by emotional trauma. This form is usually retrograde amnesia (inability to remember past information). Occasionally, it is so severe that the person may forget their identity.
- How is amnesia treated with medications?
There is currently no pharmacological therapy for amnesia. Some academics are testing pharmaceuticals used to treat Alzheimer's patients, but the FDA has yet to approve those therapies.
- How is amnesia handled?
In rare cases, forgetfulness might get better as the brain heals. You can develop compensatory skills if your memory loss is severe. Teaching people with anterograde amnesia new abilities is a part of cognitive rehabilitation. Experienced occupational therapists frequently use cognition rehabilitation therapy. Occupational therapists can also assist your family and friends in their caregiving responsibilities.