Amnesia

            Can you imagine waking up one morning not recognizing your loved ones, your house, or even who you are? This is what most people with amnesia have to deal with everyday. 

            Amnesia affects each person differently.  Some people have amnesia for a short amount of time due to a head injury, while more severe cases involve having a certain type of amnesia for the rest of your life.  There are three common types of amnesia that affect memory in three different ways.  One is called anterograde amnesia.  In this type of amnesia a person is unable to learn new information, he/she is able to remember events from the past clearly, but is unable to make new memories.  If you’ve ever watched the movie Finding Nemo, Dory is a depiction of someone with anterograde amnesia, also refered to as short term memory loss.  People with this type of amnesia don’t have trouble performing a task, they just don’t remember learning something new.

            Retrograde amnesia is the opposite of anterograde amnesia.  In retrograde amnesia, one loses memory of events that occurred before the trauma and new information is stored and recalled without a problem.  In the movie the Bourne identity, Matt Damon suffers from retrograde amnesia.  He is unable to remember anything about himself, however he is able to learn new languages. 

            Transient global amnesia is similar to anterograde amnesia, however it occurs suddenly and lasts no more than 24 hours.  A person is disoriented and confused, but is able to recognize family members and their name.  This type of amnesia is triggered by mild head trauma, stenuous physical activity, certain medical procedures, etc.  This type of amnesia is very rare, and is less likely to occur after you have had one episode.

            Hollywood depicts amnesia in a certain way, however most movies exaggerate on how amnesia can affect a person, while other movies are non realistic with facts about amnesia. 

           Below is a video that Disney uses in the movie Finding Nemo to depict anterograde amnesia also known as short term memory loss.  This video clearly shows how someone with anterograde amnesia has difficulty making new memories.