Retrograde Amnesia
Amnesia is the loss of the faculty of memory and one of the common forms of brain disorders. It is caused by any organic causes like infections, psychological trauma's or physical injuries to the brain. Amnesia can either be associated with loss of recollection of the past or of the events that immediately follow the accident. In the former case it is called as retrograde amnesia while the later condition is referred to as anterograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is in general viewed as a problem with recovering remote information while anterograde amnesia represents problems with registering new information. Let us have a brief outlook into the diagnosis, cause and treatment of retrograde amnesia.
Types of Amnesia
There are different types of amnesia like retrograde, anterograde, lacunar amnesia, transient global amnesia and hysterical amnesia. Among these retrograde and anterograde amnesia are the two most prevalent conditions. Amnesia can be caused by brain damage due to accidents or infectious diseases and the condition can be temporary or more lasting depending on the severity of the damage. In general amnesia due to organic causes are of more permanent nature. The DSM defines retrograde amnesia as the, "Loss of memory of events that occurred before the onset of the etiological condition or agent." [Scottsdale] In retrograde amnesia the amnesiac looses long-term memory and he cannot recollect events that happened prior to the trauma. Before going into detail about retrograde amnesia it is necessary to have a brief outlook on the mechanism of the brain function.
Human brain is a highly complex network and divided into distinct regions such as frontal lobes, temporal lobes and parietal lobes etc. The information that we process everyday is either stored temporarily (discarded in a short while) or permanently embedded within out brain. For any particular information to be permanently stored there needs to be a permanent chemical change in the brain. This is automatically done when we use and reuse the same information again and again. This process by which, temporary data are converted and stored as permanent data is known as consolidation. The hippocampus located in the temporal area of the brain is found play a vital role in permanently wiring the information into the brain cells. As researcher Fanselow (2000) observes, "with the aid of the hippocampus, this memory becomes permanently stored in other, probably cortical, structures" As we have seen, the extant data demonstrate that in some circumstances," [Lynn Nadel] So any damage caused to the hippocampus region would directly affect this conversion process leading to loss of long-term memory.
Diagnostic Tests
Asides the normal symptoms of reported memory loss there are certain procedures that will help the physician in his diagnosis of amnesia. Cerebral angiography is one such procedure, which helps the physician identify the exact location of any abnormality in the arteries in the brain. Using a contrast dye the blood flow in the brain can be traced. CT scans may also be performed to identity any intra-cranial infarctions and to monitor the motor neuron activity within the brain. The Electro encephalogram is another test that is used to monitor the electrical activity within the brain and to identify any anomalies. [ADAM]
Causes of Amnesia
Amnesia is a symptomatic response to many different kinds of brain diseases. Amnesia may also result because of physical injury to the brain or infections and other kinds of degenerative brain disorders. Alzheimer's disease, dementia, brain tumor, encephalitis and brain infections are all leading causes of amnesia. Amnesia may also result from epileptic seizures. Electro conclusive therapy that is used to treat patients with chemical imbalances in the brain is also reported to be cause Amnesia. Similarly temporal lobe surgery (for tumors and other diseases) invariably results in some degree of amnesia.
Diagnosis of amnesia basically involves identifying the pattern of cognitive impairment and memory disorder. Brain lesions within particular regions can be attributed to specific symptoms and specific kind of amnesia. It was not until 1970, when computerized tomography became a reality that studying the exact locations of the lesions was possible. In general particular pattern of lesions are identified with particular type of organic amnesia. For example amnesia caused by encephalitis (brain infection) and korsakoff syndrome are largely due to lesions that are localized within a certain segment of the brain. However it is observed that even within a particular aetiological group the pattern of damage is much different. [Alan J. Parkin, 8]
Retrograde Amnesia (Some Facts)
Retrograde...
, 2004). Brain imaging studies confirm that those factors include the efficiency of processes unrelated to the underlying cause of amnesia, such as the subsequent neurological regeneration of nerve fibers in particular (Staniloiu & Markowitsch, 2010). As predicted, volumes of animal studies and research involving testing individuals suffering from retrograde amnesia have subsequently identified several specific regions and structures as being involved in the development of retrograde amnesia that are completely
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