Memory problems: its 3 types and possible causes

These cognitive disturbances can arise in youth, in maturity or in old age.

Memory is probably one of the most important one of the most important cognitive abilities when it comes to organizing our lives. when it comes to organizing our lives.

The ability to remember our history and identity, to preserve our experiences and to keep in mind what we have just done or what we have to do are elements that derive to a large extent from different types of memory, and the deterioration of this capacity is a cause for concern for most people.

The reason for this is, in many cases, the association of memory loss with the neurodegeneration characteristic of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. But although memory deficits and impairments do appear in many of these diseases, memory problems are not limited to the Alzheimer's disease, memory problems are not limited only to neurodegenerative diseases..

In this article we are going to analyze what we consider memory problems and some of the different contexts or situations in which they can appear.

What is a memory problem and when can it appear?

When we say that someone or that we ourselves have a memory problem, we are generally referring to the fact that we have experienced some (generally several) situation in which we have forgotten information that we have previously learned and/or that we should remember or have remembered.

This lack of memories can be experienced in different waysand in some cases could be indicating the presence of some important difficulty. In particular, the increasing concern about dementias such as Alzheimer's disease often leads to a high level of anxiety and visits to the doctor and neuropsychologist.

Checking the possible reasons for these failures is more than advisable and especially from certain ages onwards but we must also bear in mind that there are many factors that can provoke memory problems throughout life, many of them throughout life, many of them normal and not pathological per se. However, when memory problems are habitual and repetitive, it is highly advisable to consult a professional to assess the presence of serious difficulties.

Nor should we immediately identify memory problems with advancing age: young people and adults can also suffer for different reasons from different failures, either on an occasional basis or with a certain degree of difficulty. either occasionally or with a certain frequency.

Another important aspect to take into account is the fact that although the problem we are usually concerned about occurs at recall or evocation, in fact memory is a process that is not limited to that moment alone: for a memory to become a memory requires information to be first captured, encoded, processed, retained and finally retrieved. Thus, a memory problem could actually occur at any of these moments, and it may also happen that some interference appears that hinders subsequent recall.

Confusion with other psychological problems

Memory problems are often confused or identified with the presence of problems in other mental abilities and capacities. This is not a strange misunderstanding, since the truth is that a large number of mental abilities are linked to memory..

Probably one of the most frequent confusions is between memory problems and attention problems.

Attention problems often make it difficult or even impossible to record information correctly, affecting the capture and processing of the information to be memorized.This can be interpreted as a memory problem in subsequent recall tests. This occurs both in the face of existing attention difficulties and in situations in which simultaneous attention to different stimuli is required.

Types of memory problems

There are many types of memory and many affectations that can appear in this capacity. By way of summary, we will mention some of the best known.

1. Amnesia

Amnesia is defined as the inability to remember past experiences in the case of retrograde amnesia or as the inability to encode and store in memory new information in the case of anterograde amnesia, derived from the presence of a brain injury (such as amnesic syndrome) or due to emotional or psychological causes (in the case of dissociative amnesia).

Amnesia can be transitory or permanent, depending on each case, and include or influence a longer or shorter period of time.

2. Paramnesias and parapraxias

Paramnesias are understood as those memory problems characterized by the presence of distortions or incorporation of false elements in the memory or associated with an erroneous temporality. It is not that the subject does not remember, but that these memories are altered..

On the other hand, parapraxias are understood as memory errors typical of healthy subjects and are usually based on forgetting details or difficulties in the production of a memory that we know is present.

Within these groups we find memory problems such as confabulation (introducing elements to fill in memories, unconsciously), the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon (when a word that deep down we know we know does not come out), temporal gaps or loss of details due to the automation of known tasks.

Also recognition problems can also be seen, such as the such as the well-known "deja vu" (experiencing something for the first time although we have the sensation of having experienced it before) and "jamais vu" (the opposite) or cryptoamnesia (believing that a memory is not a memory but something that is happening now for the first time).

3. Hypermnesias

We rarely identify the fact of remembering too much, but the truth is that for some people it can become so. This is what happens with flashes experienced during the consumption of some drugs, in post-traumatic stress disorderThis is what happens in post-traumatic stress disorder or in psychopathological conditions such as paranoia or ecmnesia (in which people believe they are living in the past).

Causes and situations in which they occur

There are multiple possible causes, contexts and situations that can be linked to the appearance of a memory problem. Among them we can find some that are in fact normative and others that derive from some type of memory problem. others that derive from some type of pathology or acquired situation..

1. Interferences in the memorization process

Our knowledge is influenced by the events and learning that we receive over time. One of the possible reasons why a memory problem may appear, which does not necessarily imply pathology, is the interference generated by what has been learned before or after the event to be remembered.

This is easier to understand with an example: if I learn a telephone number at a given moment and a little earlier or a little later we have learned another one, it is likely that we will forget one of the numbers or that we will confuse them..

Lack of sleep and/or nutrition

Tiredness and fatigue are aspects that can severely impair our mental capacities. Sleep in general is associated with the recovery of the body and the nervous system.

REM sleep is associated with the consolidation of memories in the memory.. Sleep deprivation is generally detrimental to higher mental processes, including especially memory. In addition, the attention and concentration necessary to detect, grasp and process information will also be impaired if we do not get enough sleep.

3. Stress and anxiety

Having to do many things at the same time, being agitated or nervous, or suffering from anxiety or burnout can also be other reasons for memory problems.

Although they are especially evident in the case of prospective memory (towards the future, i.e. remembering to do a certain thing), there may also be failures, blockages or forgetfulness of specific experiences in the past or difficulty in recording new information.

Most of these memory problems are linked to attentional problems, the subject being concentrated and immersed in the distress or stressful situation.

4. Health problems

Memory is also affected by different physical illnesses. For example, respiratory problems can cause less Blood to reach the brain, which has a direct impact on its functioning and in certain areas can affect the ability to remember.This has a direct effect on its functioning and in certain areas can affect the ability to remember.

Problems and diseases such as anemia, diabetes, excessive blood loss or lack of vitamins and other nutrients can also cause memory problems. The same can be said of the presence of tumors that affect or put pressure on certain brain areas.

5. Drugs and side effects of some drugs

The consumption of alcohol and different drugs has also been associated with the appearance of memory problems, blockages and various other problems. In some cases, disorders such as Korsakoff's syndrome, in which memory is severely affected, may appear.

Likewise, some drugs can also cause memory problems as a side effect, such as some psychotropic drugs (although other drugs are also associated with this). In the event of memory deficits, it may be possible to seek an analogous drug to avoid this effect. it may be possible to look for an analogous drug to avoid this effect, or to assess the pros and cons of using an analogous drug.or to evaluate the pros and cons of maintaining the treatment.

6. Depression and other mood disorders

Depression can also generate memory problems, based among other factors on the mental slowing that can lead, rumination and concentration problems that may be associated with this diagnosis. It is not uncommon for blockages to appear, evocation failures due to inattentiveness or a bias towards the memory of negative events. bias towards the memory of negative events.

7. Normative aging

We all know that most people lose faculties as we age. We become slower, have more mobility problems and need more time for reasoning. we need more time to reason.

The same thing happens with memory: as a general rule (although not always) most of us lose the ability to learn new things and it is easier for absent-mindedness and forgetfulness to appear. This is due to the aging of neurons, and it is common for regions of the brain such as the hippocampus to shrink or for the level of blood in them to decrease.

All this means that some memory loss is to be expected, although the level of memory loss must be monitored. the level of loss should be monitored, if it generates dysfunctionalities or if an evident decrease is perceived with respect to previous moments.

8. Acquired brain damage: cranioencephalic trauma and cerebrovascular accidents.

Traffic accidents or different types of blows to the head can also generate memory problems, in the form of either anterograde amnesia (recording new information) or retrograde amnesia (of previous knowledge or experiences). This can occur at any age.

Similarly, cerebrovascular accidents (whether hemorrhagic or ischemic) can affect brain areas linked to memory, such as the hippocampus. In fact, in some cases may eventually lead to vascular dementia derived from the presentation of cerebral infarcts, which, depending on the areas affected, can cause memory alterations.

9. Processes of cognitive impairment and dementia

Although we have started this article by pointing out that not every memory problem implies dementia, we cannot fail to mention this type of disorder along with mild cognitive impairment and impairment arising in other mental disorders as one of the causes of memory problems.

In the case of dementias, these memory problems will tend in most of the will tend in most cases to become more accentuated and aggravated over time due to the over time due to neurodegeneration.

Bibliographical references:

• Santos, J.L. (2012). Psychopathology. Manual CEDE de Preparación PIR, 01. CEDE. Madrid.