The different types of amnesia (and their characteristics)

Memory loss can be caused by different factors and manifest itself in various ways.

The amnesia is a disorder that affects the normal functioning of the memory and makes the sufferer unable to store information or retrieve it correctly.

However, beyond this summary definition, there are many nuances that make it necessary to talk about amnesia as a global concept, rather than amnesia as a global concept, but rather about types of amnesia.

Amnesia can take different forms

Amnesia can present itself in so many forms that studies of certain lesions and dysfunctions in different parts of the brain have been in different parts of the brain have led to the discovery of the mechanisms that operate behind the use of memory from the different types of amnesia that occur.

In addition, this phenomenon may be caused by injuries or by the "emotional imprint" that certain experiences have left in the brain, causing some memories to be blocked. This means that the types of amnesia can also be established according to the different causes that produce them. In this way, it has been seen that what appears to be a simple cognitive function based simply on the storage of information is, in reality, the result of several processes working at the same time.

In this article we will show the different types of amnesia, their characteristics and criteria by which they can be classified into different categories..

1. Types of amnesia according to their chronology

If we look at the criterion of the chronology in which amnesia manifests itself, we will distinguish between two types of amnesia: retrograde and anterograde amnesia.. This classification only serves to describe the symptoms of amnesia, and does not give information about what causes it. In addition, both types of amnesia can occur at the same time, although one is often more noticeable than the other.

Retrograde amnesia

In retrograde amnesia the experiences that are not remembered happened before the amnesia began to develop.. It is the best known type of amnesia and it is shown in series, movies and other fictional works in which a character does not remember a part of his or her past.

1.2. Anterograde amnesia

In this type of amnesia there is a total or partial incapacity to make the experiences that are being lived remain fixed in the memory.. That is, anterograde amnesia, by affecting what has been happening since the disorder first developed, means that what is being experienced does not become part of long-term memory and is forgotten after a few minutes or seconds.

An example of this type of amnesia can be seen in the famous movie Memento.

2. Types of amnesia according to their causes

2.1. Global amnesia

This type of amnesia consists of total loss of memoryThe most important memories related to one's own identity are usually retained. Among its most probable causes is the possibility that a traumatic event has altered the normal functioning of the brain.

2.2. Childhood Amnesia

Consists of the inability to remember events experienced in childhood.. Despite its name, this type of amnesia is not considered a disorder, as it is common and is part of the normal development of the nervous system as it grows.

2.3. Drug-induced amnesia

A type of amnesia produced by the administration of substances that affect the functioning of the brain causing the events that happen at that moment not to be remembered. It may be a side effect of a drug or it may be the purpose for which a substance has been administered for therapeutic purposes during for therapeutic purposes during, for example, surgery.

2.4. Transient global amnesia

It is not known what causes this type of amnesia, only its symptoms. The person experiencing transient global amnesia will remember the essentials about his or her identity and may also remember things about the immediate past, but will have difficulty accessing memories about the immediate past. will have difficulty accessing memories about what happened just a few minutes ago. (anterograde amnesia) and possibly also in remembering some things pertaining to long-term memory. This will occur for 24 hours or less.

2.5. Dissociative amnesia

In dissociative amnesia one is unable to recall memories related to highly stressful or traumatic experiences. One of the most interesting types of amnesia.

2.6. Source amnesia

In this type of amnesia there are certain data or pieces of information that are remembered more or less well, although one is not able to know how to remember them.although one is not able to know what their source is, how one has come to know about them.

2.7. Lacunar amnesia

The inability to remember what happened during a given period in which there was no significant stress peak.. It is so called because it leaves a blank "gap" in memory.

2.8. Post-traumatic amnesia

Post-traumatic or traumatic amnesia is a type of amnesia. caused by a blow to the head or head injury in general.. It is usually transient and affects memories of the immediate past. Post-traumatic amnesia should not be confused with forms of amnesia following traumatic experiences.

2.9. Dissociative leakage

This type of amnesia is very common in cases of dementia, the person may realize that he or she is in a place without remembering how he or she got there.. In dissociative fugue, moreover, it is very common that aspects of one's identity are not remembered, causing the person to undertake a more or less long journey to remember who he/she is.

2.10. Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

Although not a type of amnesia per se, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a set of symptoms in which memory disturbances play a very important role. Among its most common symptoms are ua combination of retrograde and anterograde amnesia and confabulation, i.e., the involuntary invention of stories that serve to "fill in" memory gaps.i.e., the involuntary invention of stories that serve to "fill in" memory gaps. It is usually caused by alcoholism.