Wear a helmet when bicycling and a seat belt when driving.It's important to take steps to minimize your chance of a brain injury. Preventionĭamage to the brain can be a root cause of amnesia. Some people with severe memory problems need to be supervised or need to live in a care facility. It may not be possible to recover lost memories. The syndrome can cause problems at work, at school and in social settings. But even mild amnesia takes a toll on daily activities and quality of life.
The chance of developing amnesia might increase if you've experienced:Īmnesia varies in severity and scope. In this disorder, people may lose personal memories and information about their lives. It can result from being the victim of a violent crime or experiencing other trauma. Mild head injuries typically don't cause lasting amnesia, but more-severe head injuries may cause permanent amnesia.Īnother rare type of amnesia, called dissociative amnesia, stems from emotional shock or trauma. This is especially common in the early stages of recovery. Head injuries that cause a concussion, whether from a car accident or sports, can lead to confusion and problems remembering new information. Certain medicines such as benzodiazepines or others that act as sedatives.Alzheimer's disease and other diseases that involve the degeneration of nerve tissue.
Tumors in areas of the brain that control memory. When this happens, it's called Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Long-term alcohol misuse that leads to too little vitamin B-1, known as thiamin, in the body. This may happen as a result of a heart attack, respiratory distress or carbon monoxide poisoning. It also may be due to an autoimmune reaction in the absence of cancer. Or inflammation may be a result of an autoimmune reaction to cancer somewhere in the body. Brain inflammation, which may be due to an infection with a virus such as herpes simplex virus. Possible causes of neurological amnesia include: They also include the hippocampal formations found within the temporal lobes of the brain.Īmnesia caused by brain injury or damage is known as neurological amnesia. They include the thalamus found deep within the center of the brain. Any disease or injury that affects the brain can affect memory.Īmnesia can result from damage to brain structures that form the limbic system, which controls emotions and memories. Typical memory function involves many parts of the brain. If someone you know has symptoms of amnesia, help the person get medical attention. People with amnesia may not know where they are or be able to seek medical care. False memories that are either completely invented or are real memories misplaced in time.Īnyone who experiences unexplained memory loss, head injury or confusion requires immediate medical attention. Additional symptomsĭepending on the cause of the amnesia, other symptoms may include: This disorder involves memory and other cognitive problems that aren't as severe as those experienced in dementia. Memory loss also is a common symptom of mild cognitive impairment. These problems include having trouble with language, judgment and visual-spatial skills. Dementia often includes memory loss but also involves other problems with thinking that lead to a decline in daily functioning. They may understand they have a memory disorder.Īmnesia isn't the same as dementia. People with amnesia usually can understand written and spoken words and can learn skills such as bike riding or piano playing. 
It also doesn't affect judgment, personality or identity. Isolated memory loss doesn't affect a person's intelligence, general knowledge, awareness or attention span. But they may not be able to name the current president, know the month or remember what they ate for breakfast. More-remote or deeply ingrained memories may be spared.įor example, people may recall experiences from childhood or know the names of past presidents. Recent memories are most likely to be lost.
Most people with amnesia have problems with short-term memory, so they can't retain new information. Trouble remembering past events and previously familiar information.
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