Amnesia is when a person can no longer memorize or recall information that is stored in memory. It is very rare, despite being a popular theme for movies and books. Being a little forgetful is completely different to having amnesia. Amnesia refers to a large-scale loss of memories that should not have been forgotten. These may include important milestones in life, memorable events, key people in our lives, and vital facts we have been told or taught.

           TYPES OF AMNESIA

There are many different types of amnesia. Below is a list of the most common ones:

1. Anterograde amnesia: The person cannot remember new information. Things that happened recently and information that should be stored into short-term memory disappear. This usually results from a brain trauma, when a blow to the head causes brain damage, for example. The person will remember data and events that happened before the injury.

2. Retrograde amnesia: In some ways the opposite of anterograde amnesia, the person cannot remember events that occurred before their trauma, but they remember what happened after it. Rarely, both retrograde and anterograde amnesia can occur together.

3. Transient global amnesia: A temporary loss of all memory and, in severe cases, difficulty forming new memories. This is very rare and more likely in older adults with vascular (blood vessel) disease.

3. Traumatic amnesia: Memory loss results from a hard blow to the head, for instance, in a car accident. The person may experience a brief loss of consciousness or a coma. The amnesia is usually temporary, but how long it lasts normally depends on how severe the injury is. Amnesia can be an important indicator of concussion.

4. Wernicke-Korsakoff’s psychosis: Extended alcohol abuse can lead to progressive memory loss that worsens over time. The person may also have neurological problems, such as poor coordination and a loss of feeling in the toes and fingers. It can also be caused by malnutrition, specifically a thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency.

5. Hysterical (fugue or dissociative) amnesia: Rarely, a person can forget not only their past but also their identity. They may wake up and suddenly have no sense of who they are. Even if they look in the mirror, they do not recognize their own reflection. A driving license, credit cards, or ID card will be meaningless. It is usually triggered by an event that the person’s mind is unable to cope with properly. The ability to remember usually returns either slowly or suddenly within a few days, but the memory of the shocking event may never come back completely.

6. Childhood amnesia (infantile amnesia): The person cannot recall events from early childhood, possible because of a language development problem or some memory areas of the brain not fully maturing during childhood.

7. Posthypnotic amnesia: Events during hypnosis cannot be recalled.

Source amnesia: The person can remember certain information but not how or where they got that information.

8. Blackout phenomenon: A bout of heavy drinking can leave a person with memory gaps, where they cannot remember chunks of time during the binge.

9. Prosopamnesia: The person cannot remember faces. People can either acquire Trusted Source it or be born with it.

SYMPTOMS OF AMNESIA

The following are common symptoms of amnesia:

1. The ability to learn new information is impaired in anterograde amnesia.

2. The ability to remember past events and previously familiar information is impaired in retrograde amnesia.

3. False memories may be either completely invented or consist of real memories misplaced in time, in a phenomenon known as confabulation.

4. Uncoordinated movements and tremors indicate neurological problems.

5. Confusion or disorientation may occur.

6. There may be problems with short-term memory, partial or total loss of memory

7. The person may be unable to recognize faces or locations