Give a detailed account of the causes and effects of amnesia, including reference to the areas of the brain typically affected. Briefly compare your findings to the way in which amnesia has been portrayed in the media and in films.
It isn’t unusual for a film or book plot to centre around the main character having a traumatic event, falling unconscious and later waking up with no recollection of past memories or their very identity as a whole, but in reality, this phenomenon is nowhere near as common as it may first appear. Impaired memory recall and disturbances in the way in which the brain stores information is known as Amnesia (Hardt, 2009) and differers from forgetfulness through contrasting physical differences in the brain (Boss, 1988) despite sometimes seeming outwardly similar.
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In this way, amnesia is categorised depending on the effects of the memory loss. Retrogate Amnesia effects the acquisition of memory and information prior to the amnesiac episode whereas Anterograde Amnesia refers to memory impairment after the onset of amnesia and an inability to retain new information (Dewar et al, 2010). Transient Global Amnesia is a temporary and sudden loss of short term memory (Hodges & Warlow, 1990) and the cause is typically unknown. This is a temporary disruption of memory but has huge effects due to it being a total short term memory loss.
Both Retrograde and Anterograde amnesia are associated with damage and lesions on the hippocampus and thalamus (Gilboa, 2006; Winocur, 2001; Winocur, 2013) but any damage to the physical structure of the brain has its effects upon memory function. The physical damage to the brain is known as neurological amnesia, but amnesia can also stem from a psychologically traumatic event or a head