User:Carys Bratt/sandbox

Signs and symptoms[edit]

Individuals that have amnesia can learn new information, particularly if the information is non-declarative knowledge. However, in some situations, some people with dense anterograde amnesia do not remember the episodes during which they previously learned or observed the information. Some common symptoms of people who are suffering with amnesia tend to show abnormal amounts of memory loss, confusion, and difficulty recalling others or places. It is mentioned that people who recover do not remember having the period of amnesia.

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Dissociative amnesia results from a psychological cause as opposed to direct damage to the brain caused by head injury, physical trauma or disease, which is known as organic amnesia. Individuals with organic amnesia have a difficulty with emotion expression as well as undermining the seriousness of their condition. The damage to the memory is permanent. Dissociative amnesia can include:

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Posthypnotic amnesia occurs when events during hypnosis are forgotten, or where past memories are unable to be recalled. The failure to remember those events is induced by suggestions made during the hypnosis. Some of the characteristics of posthypnotic amnesia include an individual being unable to remember specific events while under the hypnotic influence, having the ability to have reversibility, and having no relation between the implicit and explicit memory. Research has shown that there could be a selectivity with amnesia when posthypnotic amnesia occurs.

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Childhood amnesia (also known as infantile amnesia) is the common inability to remember events from one's own childhood. Sigmund Freud notoriously attributed this to sexual repression, while modern scientific approaches generally attribute it to aspects of brain development or developmental psychology, including language development, which may be why people do not easily remember pre-language events. Some research states that most adults cannot remember memories as early as two or three years old. Research suggests there are cultural influences that affect memories that are recalled. Researchers have found that implicit memories cannot be recalled or described. Remembering how to play the piano is a common example of implicit memory, as are walking, speaking, and other everyday activities that would be difficult to focus on if they had to be relearned every time one got up in the morning. Explicit memories, on the other hand, can be recalled and described in words. Remembering the first time meeting a teacher is an example of an explicit memory

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Korsakoff's syndrome can result from long-term alcoholism or malnutrition. It is caused by brain damage due to a vitamin B₁ deficiency and will be progressive if alcohol intake and nutrition pattern are not modified. Other neurological problems are likely to be present in combination with this type of Amnesia, such as problems with the medial temporal lobe and frontal lobe dysfunction. Korsakoff's syndrome is also known to be connected with confabulation. The person's short-term memory may appear to be normal, but the person may have a difficult time attempting to recall a past story, or with unrelated words, as well as complicated patterns.^{[unreliable medical source?]} Korsakoff's syndrome is unique because it involves both anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

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Source amnesia is the inability to remember where, when or how previously learned information has been acquired, while retaining the factual knowledge. When individuals are unable to remember certain knowledge, it is possible that false memories can occur and cause great amounts of confusion.

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Semantic amnesia affects semantic memory and primarily expresses itself in the form of problems with language use and acquisition. Semantic amnesia can lead to dementia.

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Treatment[edit]

Many forms of amnesia fix themselves without being treated.^{[unreliable medical source?]} However, there are a few ways to cope with memory loss if treatment is needed. Since there are a variety of causes that form different amnesia, it is important to note that there are different methods that response better with the certain type of Amnesia. Emotional support and love as well as medication and psychological therapy have been proven effective.