Anterograde amnesia: what is it, causes, symptoms and treatment

Human beings have the ability to remember situations from the past with some ease. This is due to the functioning of memory and the memory can vary depending on the person, since some will remember more than others.

However, unfortunate events can occur that cause memory disturbances and, as a consequence, memories are lost. This can affect the development of daily life, affecting both the personal and professional spheres. Having specific, effective and relevant data on this subject can be very useful. For this reason, in this Psychology-Online article, we will provide you with information about the Anterograde amnesia: what is it, causes, symptoms and treatment.

Index

1. What is anterograde amnesia
2. Causes of anterograde amnesia
3. Symptoms of anterograde amnesia
4. Consequences of anterograde amnesia
5. Treatment of anterograde amnesia

Anterograde amnesia is a memory disturbance that is caused as a result of some particular event from which the person

When determining the characteristics of this condition, it is important to locate its possible origins. Therefore, below, we will place the most important causes of anterograde amnesia:

• Brain injuries: when damage occurs in certain areas of the brain linked to the storage of information from the environment, this ability can be affected. In general, head injuries are triggers of these pictures. Likewise, cerebrovascular accidents that cause a lack of blood supply.
• excess alcohol: Excessive intake of alcoholic beverages can produce pertinent alterations such as anterograde amnesia. However, it must be taken into account that this type of amnesia arises from a particular situation in which certain requirements must be met. This means that drinking alcohol without major excesses does not impair memory. If you want to know more, in this article you will find information on the effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system.

Anterograde amnesia has some characteristics that allow it to be detected. Knowing these details can favor strategies to address the problem in time. The most relevant symptoms of anterograde amnesia are the following:

• short-term memory loss.
• Lack of trust.
• Temporal and spatial disorientation.
• Difficulty learning new information.
• Confusion.
• Anxiety.

Even so, the presence of any of these symptoms does not necessarily imply that we are facing anterograde amnesia. It is essential that the diagnosis be carried out by a mental health professional who evaluates the characteristics of each patient.

From the symptoms derived from anterograde amnesia, it is possible to infer that they hinder the development of daily life. Next, you will see what consequences anterograde amnesia has from two examples:

• Difficulties in interpersonal relationships: a person who has suffered a severe brain injury has trouble establishing new relationships social, because she will not remember or will have difficulties to converse in her memory the situations that occurred with other people. In this sense, it must be taken into account that Social relations they are built over time and anterograde amnesia can make it difficult to consolidate these links.
• loss of coordinates: a person with anterograde amnesia has many difficulties to be completely autonomous, since he has a tendency to get disoriented anywhere. This occurs because it is difficult for her to stay in places without the presence of another known person to accompany her.

Despite the setbacks that anterograde amnesia entails, there are specific approaches that allow an improvement in the quality of life of people who suffer from this condition. Next, we will talk about how anterograde amnesia is cured:

• psychological therapy: Although it is true that anterograde amnesia has a neurological component, it is important pay attention to the consequences that it can have at an emotional, behavioral and cognitive level in the person. For this reason, psychological therapy provides strategies that allow coping with situations related to lack of memory in a more pleasant way.
• occupational therapy: this approach consists of helping people who present cognitive problems in solving situations through different resources that can be incorporated into daily life. This approach favors greater independence and autonomy to face situations that involve relating to others.

In conclusion, if you detect any of the signs belonging to anterograde amnesia, it is important that you go to health professionals specialized in memory psychopathologies. Also, in this article, we tell you how to improve short term memory.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Anterograde amnesia: what is it, causes, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• De Noreña Martínez, D., De La Vega Rodríguez, I. (2007). Memory alterations in frontal brain damage. Psychological Action Magazine, 4 (3), 73-85.
• Sierra Montoya, M. P., Ascensio Lancheros, J. L., Ochoa Gómez, J.F., Carvajal-Castrillón, J. (2014). Isolated retrograde amnesia: clinical description and neuroimaging of a case. Colombian Neurological Act Journal, 30 (3), 215-221.