Tag: Memory problems

Lacunar Amnesia

Lacunar amnesia is the loss of memory about a specific event. This specific form of amnesia is caused by brain damage in the limbic system which is responsible for our memories and emotions. When the damage occurs it leaves a lacuna, or a gap, in the record of memory within the cortex region of the brain. There is a general belief that certain emotions from the lost memory may be triggered without the recollection of the event.

Characteristics

Daniel Goleman, in his book Vital Lies, Simple Truths, defines a lacuna as:

“…the sort of mental apparatus that diversionary schemas represent. A lacuna is, then, the attentional mechanism that creates a defensive gap in awareness. Lacunas, in short, create blind spots.”[1]

Lacunar amnesia has also been known to be attributed to alcoholism, drug treatment, and withdrawal in some cases. After using these substances a person may experience a loss of memory of a specific event temporarily or even permanently.[2]

Steven Johnson, (the author of Mind Wide Open: Your Brain and the Neuroscience of Everyday Life) also states that:

“Scientists believe memories are captured and stored by two separate parts of the brain, the hippocampus, the normal seat of memory, and the amygdala, one of the brain’s emotional centers. People who, due to hippocampus damage, are incapable of forming long-term memories can still form subconscious memories of traumatic events if their amygdala is intact. “This may be related to erasure or reconsolidation of memories. Attempts have been made to remember memories that have been consolidated and reconsolidate them under desired conditions.

According to Alex Chadwick speaking on NPR:

“Some scientists now believe that memories effectively get rewritten every time they’re activated. Studies on rats suggest that if you block a crucial chemical process during the execution of a learned behavior – pushing a lever to get food, for instance – the learned behavior disappears. The rat stops remembering. Theoretically, if you could block that chemical reaction in a human brain while triggering a specific memory, you could make a targeted erasure. Think of a dreadful fight with your girlfriend while blocking that chemical reaction, and zap! The memory’s gone.”

This idea of the reconsolidation of memories has also been used in cases of PTSD to lessen or alleviate some of the symptoms associated with the illness.   more

 

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) [formally known as multiple personality disorder]

DID Fact Sheet

What Is Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)?

Dissociative identity disorder (DID), previously referred to as multiple personality disorder, is a dissociative disorder involving a disturbance of identity in which two or more separate and distinct personality states (or identities) control an individual’s behavior at different times. When under the control of one identity, a person is usually unable to remember some of the events that occurred while other personalities were in control. The different identities, referred to as alters, may exhibit differences in speech, mannerisms, attitudes, thoughts and gender orientation. The alters may even present physical differences, such as allergies, right-or-left handedness or the need for eyeglass prescriptions. These differences between alters are often quite striking.

A person living with DID may have as few as two alters or as many as 100. The average number is about 10. Often alters are stable over time, continuing to play specific roles in the person’s life for years. Some alters may harbor aggressive tendencies, directed toward individuals in the person’s environment or toward other alters within the person.

At the time a person living with DID first seeks professional help, he or she is usually not aware of their condition. A very common complaint in people affected by DID is episodes of amnesia, or time loss. These individuals may be unable to remember events in all or part of a proceeding time period. They may repeatedly encounter unfamiliar people who claim to know them, find themselves somewhere without knowing how they got there or find items that they don’t remember purchasing among their possessions.

What Are The Symptoms Of DID?

Often people living with DID are depressed or even suicidal and self-mutilation is common in this group. Approximately one-third of individuals affected complain of auditory or visual hallucinations.

While the causes are unknown, statistics show that DID occurs in 0.01 to 1 percent of the general population. DID is a serious mental illness that occurs across all ethnic groups and all income levels. It affects women nine times more than men.

In addition to experiencing separate identities, individuals living with DID may also experience many other symptoms. Some of these symptoms include:

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