Amnesia and Sleep Cycle

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FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS TYPES OF AMNESIA: There are three types of amnesia; anterograde amnesia, retrograde amnesia, and infantile amnesia. Both anterograde and retrograde amnesia are the most severe types of memory loss disorders. They are caused by damage inflicted on the areas of the brain that provide the functioning of memory. Often, these brain injuries can be a result of severe concussions, traumatic events, and the abuse of alcohol, mental disorders, and disorders that occur from aging. Retrograde amnesia is defined as the loss of memory from the point of injury backwards. For example, a victim of an accident resulting in head injury may not be able to recall the accident, and even worse, they may not be able to remember what happened several days before the accident. Those who suffer from retrograde amnesia usually have trouble remembering events that happened closer to the time of the injury. In the most severe cases, some victims may even forget who they are. Generally, this type of amnesia is temporary, and gradually restoration of memory is very common. The areas of the brain that are impaired in retrograde amnesia, the hippocampus, the temporal lobe, and the prefrontal cortex, are associated with primarily declarative and episodic memory. Apparently what occurs is that the brains consolidation process is disrupted; therefore, that area of the brain loses memory of events that were not fully stored. In contrast, anterograde amnesia refers to the loss of memory from the time of the injury, or illness, forward. For example, a victim in an accident resulting in head injury may have difficulty remembering anything new. Concussions are a leading cause to anterograde amnesia. It is also a very common type amongst elderly people battling for of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s. In cases of anterograde amnesia, the damage resides in areas of the hippocampus,

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