These cases involve generalized amnesia, and the patient leaves his or her previous routine after losing memories of his or her identity.

In this case, patients are unable to form new memories. Here, the patient loses a specific type of information, such as memories of a particular person. In this case, patients forget only some parts of a specific period or event. Often, the area of amnesia coincides with the experience that triggered the memory loss. In these cases, patients are unable to recall a specific period or a specific event. In these very rare cases, patients forget everything about themselves, including their identities and life histories. “Memories” of events that didn’t happen or confusion about when actual events occurred.ĭissociative amnesia caused by traumatic events may take several different forms, including:.Difficulty remembering new information or events that occur after the beginning of the amnesia.This is referred to as retrograde amnesia. Difficulty recalling past events that occurred before the beginning of the amnesia.Inability to recall information, events, people, and/or experiences.The most common symptoms of amnesia include: Dementia patients often experience memory loss, but they also suffer from other cognitive problems that are usually not present in cases of amnesia. In other cases, mainly where the amnesia is caused by physical damage to the brain, the memory loss may be permanent.Īmnesia is different from dementia. Amnesia may also stem from a psychological cause, such as a traumatic experience that triggers memory loss.ĭepending on their cause, some types of amnesia can be temporary, and the patient will eventually regain lost memories or the ability to create new memories. The condition may have a physical cause, such as an injury, infection, or other trauma that impairs brain function. Amnesia, also sometimes called amnestic syndrome, is a condition in which the patient experiences memory loss.

Causes of temporary amnesia