Amnesia

Question 1

Define: brain trauma

Answer 1

umbrella term for any brain damage that interferes with the normal functioning of the brain, either temporarily or permanently.

Question 2

brain trauma is due to two things:

Answer 2

Inflicted brain injury

Acquired brain injury

Question 3

Define: inflicted brain injury

Answer 3

(intentional blow to the head/violent shaking of head

Question 4

Define: acquired brain injury

Answer 4

due to accidents, stroke, brain infection, drug and alcohol abuse, ECT, brain surgery, neurodegenerative disease

Question 5

Define: neurodegenerative disease

Answer 5

: disorder characterised by the progressive decline (degeneration) in the structure, activity and function of neurons within the brain tissue.

Question 6

Are neurodegenerative diseases typically age related?

Answer 6

Yes (eg. alzheimers)

Question 7

Define: amnesia

Answer 7

Memory loss for any reason

Question 8

Amnesia can be ____ or _____, ____ or _____

Answer 8

Partial or complete, temporary or permanent

Question 9

Define: anterograde amnesia

Answer 9

brain trauma resulting in the loss of memory of information and events after the trauma

Question 10

What happens to LTM’s in anterograde amnesia?

Answer 10

Can’t form, consoldiate or store new LTM’s

Question 11

Anterograde amnesia is usually temporary or permanent? Why?

Answer 11

Permanent; because the consolidation process can’t occur.

Question 12

Is hippocampus and temporal lobe damage linked to anterograde amnesia?

Answer 12

yes

Question 13

Define: retrograde amnesia

Answer 13

brain trauma resulting in loss memory for information or events experienced before the trauma.

Question 14

How is retrograde amnesia usually done?

Answer 14

Blow to head OR caused by neurodegenerative disease

Question 15

Is retrograde amnesia usually permanent or temporary - why?

Answer 15

TEmporary (unless caused by neurodegenerative diseases), because the consolidation process has been interruped?

Question 16

What happens to LTM’s in retrograde amnesia?

Answer 16

Some LTM’s are lost before the incident.

Question 17

Explain how LTM’s might be recovered with retrograde amnesia.

Answer 17

Older memories might return first, possibly up to a few moments before the trauma - but memories immediately preceding the memory are usually lost (due to interruption of consolidation)