The loss of the ability to remember is called amnesia. Although commonly thought of as relating to someone who has completely forgotten who and where he or she is, amnesia can apply to the loss of old or new memories; it can be partial or total; and it can be permanent or last only a short time. The causes of amnesia vary.
Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia. Aging is a frequent cause. As humans advance in age, the heart’s action, as well as the walls of blood vessels, change. It is thought that too little blood reaching brain cells, and sometimes the lack of certain nutrients, causes the death of small portions of the brain. Old memories and new ones are kept in different portions of the brain, and many older people can recall events that took place years before while being unable to remember what they ate at their last meal. An inability to store or learn new information may also occur with advanced age. Several degenerative diseases of old age can cause profound amnesia. Primarily in older men, transient global amnesia causes severe loss of memory for minutes or hours. This is a progressive condition about which little can be done. (See also brain.)
Alcoholism is another leading cause of amnesia. Many heavy drinkers cannot recall the events of the time when they were intoxicated. In alcoholism of long duration, the gradual deterioration of brain cells takes place, and memory can become permanently confused. (See also alcoholism.)
Injuries to the head often result in amnesia for the time just before and just after an accident. As the injury heals, memory gradually returns. Tumors or other growths in the brain that affect the limbic system can also cause amnesia. When treatment of the growth is successful, the amnesia is cured.
Classic amnesia may be described as the condition of an otherwise healthy person who “wakes up” in a strange place unable to recall his name, where he came from, or where he is going. It is interesting to note that such a person, however, retains knowledge of language and social customs. This kind of amnesia is probably due to emotional stress and is called hysterical amnesia. It occurs when some event is seen as so shameful or when problems become so overwhelming that the person concerned is unable to face reality. Instead, complete amnesia develops. Hysterical amnesia is treated through psychotherapy and sometimes the administration of drugs such as sodium amibarbital, which causes a person to talk freely. Clues to the past may appear under the sedation, and the psychotherapist can use these to prod the memory of the patient.
There can also be partial amnesia from any form of brain damage. In auditory amnesia, for example, no memory for words remains. Tactile amnesia is the inability to identify objects by touch, and visual amnesia is the inability to recognize once-familiar objects and, often, printed words.
Ann Giudici Fettner