Amnesia: Beyond the Silver Screen

Have you ever forgotten somebody’s name, even though you just met them? Or have you ever forgotten where you put something in your room? The word amnesia is used frequently on TV and in the movies to talk about anyone who has a problem with memory. Any animation fanatic can relate with Dory, from Finding Nemo, which is a very perfect example. Some characters in TV shows or movies might wake up one morning and suddenly forget who they are and where they are from. Other times, a character is hit on the head and forgets everything that has happened to them in their life. These types of memory changes do not actually happen very often in real life. Real-life amnesia looks different than it does in the movies.

These types of difficulties remembering things are very common: they happen to all healthy people some of the time. But for some people, having a hard time remembering things happens almost all the time. When people have a very severe problem learning and remembering new information, we say that they have amnesia. Amnesia can be caused by damage to areas of the brain that are vital for memory processing. Unlike a temporary episode of memory loss, called transient global amnesia, amnesia can be permanent.

These types of difficulties remembering things are very common: they happen to all healthy people some of the time. But for some people, having a hard time remembering things happens almost all the time.

What causes real-life amnesia? Amnesia is usually caused by damage to a special part of the brain called the hippocampus. A brain structure important for learning and memory. Every person has two of these: one on the right side of the brain, and one on the left. The hippocampus is pretty small, around 3.5 m3 (or 0.21 in3 (3.44 cm³)) but it is a really important part of the brain. Damaging the hippocampus is the most common way to get amnesia, but damaging other brain areas that communicate with the hippocampus can also cause amnesia.

There are two ways that scientists talk about amnesia.

First, amnesia can happen alongside other problems. There are some diseases and injuries that can cause damage to the hippocampus and cause memory loss, where an example is traumatic brain injury. This condition can cause memory loss, but it usually also causes other problems for a person’s ability to think. For example, a person with traumatic brain injury might have difficulty planning for the day or making good decisions. So, when people with traumatic brain injury have memory loss, we say that they have amnesia as one of their symptoms. People can have different degrees of amnesia as a symptom, from mild memory problems to severe memory problems.

Interestingly, people who have amnesia have a hard time learning some kinds of information, but not other kinds of information.

Amnesia by itself is very rare, because damage to just the hippocampus is very rare. Luckily, these things do not happen very often. But if a person does damage the hippocampus, this typically causes the person to have memory problems. Interestingly, people who have amnesia have a hard time learning some kinds of information, but not other kinds of information. People who have amnesia are very rare, but they are very important for teaching doctors and scientists about how memory works and how scientists can help people with memory impairment to get better.

Read: Beyond The Mirror: Understanding Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Next time you watch a movie or a TV show that shows someone with a memory problem, pay attention to how the movie talks about amnesia. Now, you know that amnesia usually does not affect all of a person’s memories, just their ability to form new memories. And you know that while people with amnesia have a hard time learning new facts, they are able to learn new skills.