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Post by Admin on Aug 3, 2015 10:48:41 GMT -4
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Kenechukwu Udechukwu
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Post by Kenechukwu Udechukwu on Aug 3, 2015 18:00:59 GMT -4
It kind of sucks when you try to remember a piece of information that has just vanished from your memory or maybe you know that it’s there, you just can’t seem to find it. I feel that the inability to retrieve a memory is one of the most common causes of forgetting. Why we are often unable to retrieve information from memory remains a million dollar question. This article reminds me so much of the theory called “Decade theory”. According to this theory, a memory trace is created every time a new theory is formed and it suggests that over time, these memory traces begin to fade and disappear – Like the case of Bourne identity (Psychogenic Amnesia). I think that if information is not retrieved or rehearsed, it will eventually be lost. Sometimes, we may actively work to forget memories, especially those of traumatic or disturbing events or experiences. The two basic forms of motivated forgetting are: suppression, a conscious form of forgetting, and repression, an unconscious form of forgetting. However, the concept of repressed memories is not universally accepted by all psychologists. The British Neurologist, John Hughlings Jackson described Dr. Z’s case as a classical TEA – which is a rare but probably underdiagnosed neurological condition that manifests as relatively brief and generally recurring episodes of amnesia caused by underlying temporal lobe epilepsy. It is fascinating to know, based on Dr. John’s research, that patients with this neurological conditions tend to still present normal, converse, multitask and perceive although there will still be slight confusion or speech repetition. I totally agree with this article that memories are embedded, consolidated, refreshed, mislaid, unreliable, enriched, fragmented, exposed, repressed, honest or deceptive. And like the article says, we should be more than our memory. “A man does not consist of memory alone…”
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Post by Anjani Singh on Aug 4, 2015 11:49:10 GMT -4
Memories are extremely precious and I don’t think most people realize that. For people to have to go through episodes where they have lost a part of their lives is almost unbelievable to imagine. Yes, we are more than our memories, but those memories make us apart of who we are essentially unless we want to be a completely different person altogether. When the article mentioned how Dr. Z completely lost the memory of diagnosing the boy with his mother with “pneumonia of the left base”, I found it utterly amazing how one could lose such a “regular memory” considering he was a doctor and would be diagnosing things like this day in and day out. Most of what we hear is people losing memory due to something traumatic, but the idea of a transient epileptic amnesia where people act as if they normally do and forget the event later even with the most menial of events like a diagnosis, is what really depicts how ambiguous the idea of amnesia is. We all know certain science behind the idea of amnesia where certain parts of the brain are not working as well as others, but the reasoning for it still seems very up in the air and subjective. Amnesia may never be a concrete idea, but when it does, that will be a day worth remembering.
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Post by Elham Rahmani on Aug 4, 2015 14:04:15 GMT -4
This article made me think of some potential abuses of this knowledge. For example, what will happen if you induce transient epileptic amnesia (TEA) using electrical stimulation? Will the person forget about the preceding events? How about a person witnessing an important event and people trying to erase that memory from his/her mind? There are also new methods of brain stimulation such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Can this method be used to stimulate the temporal lobe in a way that the person forgets about the preceding events? If the answer to any of the preceding questions is yes then this issue can raise great concerns.
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Post by Cheryl Stephens on Aug 4, 2015 16:45:57 GMT -4
From what I was able to pull from this article, anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis presents as a rare autoimmune condition. A patient can present with hypo ventilation, autonomic dysfunction, cerebellar ataxia, loss of consciousness, or catatonia. There are only a couple hundred cases willingly identified. In some studies, they linked ovarian teratomas to some of the reported cases. On the other hand, psychomotor amnesia presents as a unique inability to identify oneself, loss of consciousness or past recollection of memories; however, the person is able to recall scattered memories of the past and maintains normal physical function. Like in the movie, Borne Identity, the main character undergoes a traumatic gun-shot wound and loses ability to identify or recollect his past but is able to function and talk in foreign languages. The traumatic event might dissipate from his mind but he is unable to know who he is or where he came from. I enjoyed reading this article and found this topic to be fascinating.
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Post by Vivian ARIYO on Aug 5, 2015 10:43:28 GMT -4
It could be highly frustrating to try to remember things you recently did or even did few months or years ago, especially when you are in need of the information right away. Memories can either be built by mere repetitions of things or events or even at a one time event. While some memories could be daunting, some are definitely precious and important to keep . There are scientific facts backing up amnesia but definitely there could be intentional lost of memories especially when they are traumatic. This article outlines different kinds of amnesia and the different ways people reacted to having them but all still comes down to the fact amnesia is a reality of life that happens to both sick and the non sick population. There are some measures that has been tried to use to treat this, but no definite conclusion has been drawn on this topic. I quite agree with this article that we do not consist of memory alone and there is definitely more that can be done as per memory loss in humanity.
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Post by Fadie Michael on Aug 5, 2015 15:43:35 GMT -4
“A man does not consist of memory alone. He has feeling, will, sensibility, moral being", although this is true yet I personally believe memory fuels all these aspects. We are who we are today because of experiences and how we were raised and certain incidents that we witnessed that are deeply embedded in our memories. I can’t even imagine how desperate one can be when they have no idea of who they are and where they are from; their life is just a blur. As a medical student , who is required to absorb a considerable amount of information for examination purposes , I tend to forget certain facts during a test , which is quite frustrating . I’m quite sure most of us been in that situation, yet it’s not even comparable to complete loss of memory about who you are. You just exist, locked in a body and trying to figure out bits and pieces of your life.
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Post by Deepika Tanwar on Aug 5, 2015 21:02:10 GMT -4
The article states that “A man does not consist of memory alone. He has feeling, will, sensibility, moral being … It is here … you may touch him, and see a profound change.” It cannot be denied however, that a person’s sense of identity is firmly entwined and based upon memory. While memory may not affect what we are, it can affect who we are. As beings that are able to make rational, logical and emotional decisions, much of our decision-making process is based on our memory. For example, trusting someone is usually based on our experiences with that person, experiences that we hold on to and remember for future reference; if someone has betrayed us previously, we are unlikely to depend on them again.
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Post by Varsha Pawate on Aug 5, 2015 21:07:34 GMT -4
This was an interesting article because it talks about several causes leading to amnesia. This article exposed me to disorder Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis; I had not read about this disease before. The topic of amnesia, especially dissociative fugue is very interesting. Some of these people have absolutely no idea what is going on with their life; at one moment they are going on with their life and in the next moment they loose everything. The article gives an example of Dr.Z, who diagnoses a patient and forgets the next moment. It is unfortunate that this occurs to people and must be a very scary moment for the patient especially to realize what they are experiencing. When I forget something, I get really frustrated; I cannot imagine what people must be going through when they experience amnesia. This article gives various examples for potential causes and it makes you realize there still is alot to be studied regarding the topic of amnesia.
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Katherine Marshall Lugo
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Post by Katherine Marshall Lugo on Aug 5, 2015 22:16:41 GMT -4
The topic of amnesia is always very interesting but these cases really caught my attention especially Susannah Cahalan. She was very young and with a very bright future ahead of herself. It shows me how quickly things can change and that having the right people next to you makes a difference. I liked learning about anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis because even though rare as a physician we might encounter these cases and need to know all differentials. Most surprising was the fact that she made a full recovery, which gives hope to those who might suffer from this and their families. The article ends in a very smart quote saying that we are more than memories but people with feelings, sensibility and moral being. Even when our memories fade due to different causes we are the same person.
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Post by Michael Fuselli on Aug 5, 2015 23:56:19 GMT -4
It is interesting to see the different ways in which amnesia can develop. Whether it be by trauma or a disease process causing psychogenic amnesia, or the psyche protecting itself from a traumatic situation with a psychogenic fugue. The article makes the point that it would be very difficult for a pure trauma to cause such an event because of the large amount of area in the brain that would have to be damaged. A pathological event such as anti-NMDA antibodies, a severe progressive dementia, or encephalitis would be more likely culprits. I especially found the TEA seizures interesting because a patient is capable of doing automatic tasks without being aware of it because those memories are associated with the basal ganglia and the cerebellum and most seizures rise from the temporal lobe.
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Post by Munit Singh on Aug 6, 2015 9:38:11 GMT -4
Losing your memory must be a devastating experience. Memories are what we live by, what we identify ourselves with, and what we depend on from a day to day basis. The importance of having a dependable memory is valued by all of us, but probably most by those who have experienced forgetting some vital aspects of their lives, such as their identity. The patients mentioned in this article are interesting to learn about especially their different causative factors. From an encephalitic immune response to epileptic amnesia to traumatic events, the causes are memory loss are vast. Forgetting little things from a day to day basis is something we can deal with, but losing memory so severely that one goes missing is truly mind boggling. There are so many herbal remedies that claim to improve memory and recall. Hopefully, medicine will advance in this area in order to help patients like those mentioned in this article.
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Anuhya Vallabhaneni
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Post by Anuhya Vallabhaneni on Aug 6, 2015 9:45:25 GMT -4
It's true that we are not just defined by memories alone but memories are an essential part of us, memories either make us or break us, while a patient with PTSD works actively to erase his traumatic memories an Amnesia patient desperately works on getting back his lost memories. It's scary to imagine how it would be to wake up one day in a random place and having total memory wiped out .I read an article recently that fugue state and transient amnesia are coping or defense mechanisms adapted to deal with stressful situations or environment, it's like a way of body and mind rebooting. This article focused on different types and causes for amnesia, it's interesting to know that autoantibodies due to ovarian cancer can lead to amnesia. Treatment of amnesia is still a grey area and I hope we get to see advancement in near future.
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Badursha Subramaniam
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Post by Badursha Subramaniam on Aug 6, 2015 10:08:48 GMT -4
I cant imagine how I would feel if I lose my memory.It was interesting to know loss of personal identity rarely, if ever, happens because of structural brain damage rather than psychological distress. If it does, a severe injury would be expected – devastating encephalitis, or profound dementia with an inability to form new memories (from damage of the medial temporal lobe, the part closer to midline) as well as retain old ones. Even then, we remember our own names long after we have forgotten everyone else’s. Personal identity draws upon different parts of the temporal lobe: further away from the midline and further forward. Its a tragic to not know who you are and what you were doing. It was also interesting to know when the article mentioned how Dr. Z completely lost the memory of diagnosing the boy with his mother with pneumonia of the left base, I found it interesting how he lost his regular memory. Lastly, psychogenic amnesia is a condition in which the showreel of personal life malfunctions. Traumatic personal events disappear, and amnesia is specific to a situation: being in car crash or witnessing a murder. It would be really difficult for the families to deal with situations like this. I wouldn't want to be a mother, sister, or wife of someone who would ask me after so many years who I am to them, because memories are essentially a big part of us.
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Post by Ravi Gudipalli on Aug 6, 2015 10:13:24 GMT -4
Brain is the most complex and interesting organ in our body because it controls and maintains balance of all other organs in our body. The other most dynamic and complicated function of brain is to form, process and store our memories. Brain is the fastest Super computer on the earth. So without brain and its memory function life will be miserable as we have seen in the lives of few people illustrated in this article. Memory loss could be due to both reversible and irreversible causes for example Vitamin B12 deficiency, Hypothyroidism, lead intoxication are reversible and I am glad we are able to treat them. But if there is structural damage to the brain like in Dementia, Alzheimer's there is no complete cure. So I hope may be in the future we fully understand the brain and its mechanisms fully and we will be able to find treatments for at least some of the irreversible causes. Susannah Cahalan a young girls case is really interesting how she lost her memory without any of her fault, formed false memories. But thanks to our scientists who found treatment to auto antibody diseases like anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and thank God she is finally recovered even after a long time. In my opinion amnesia is the worst disease because it will have a devastating effect on the person himself or herself and on the family too. So I hope atleast advances in Electrical brain stimulation's, or deep brain stimulation will bring luck for the entire humanity.
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