The human brain is constantly accumulates and stores information. This feature is called memory.
Forgetting is also a natural process of brain activity. Sometimes forgetfulness goes into a pathological form.
Memory lapses are the result of organic changes in the brain or occur for psychological reasons. Depending on the cause, the disease will have a favorable or unfavorable prognosis.
What it is?
Dips in memory are called amnesia.
They are associated with the violation of the processes of preservation and reproduction of information.
A person may forget recent information or lose the ability to remember the distant past.
Partial forgetfulness is common to almost all people. Forget where you put the key or do not remember the phone number - this is normal.
They start talking about pathology when the patient cannot reproduce the events of yesterday, does not remember the names, dates. Also about the disease shows the inability to remember the information received just.
In Russian science, the study of the neuropsychological processes of memory was carried out by the Soviet psychologist A.R. Luria. He laid the foundations of a new type of neuropsychology.
He developed theory of brain organization of higher mental functions. His neuropsychology, unlike the Western one, takes as its basis not medicine, but psychological processes.
Classification
In terms of etiology, amnesia can be of a psychological or physiological nature.
Physiological failures are due to organic diseases of the brain and nervous system. These cases are painful memory disorders.
With psychological amnesia, organic lesions are absent, and the cause is psychological factors: stress, fatigue, poor sleep.
By process time amnesia is divided into:
- short term;
- long-term;
- partial;
- complete.
With short term the patient forgets the events for a short time, then the memories come back. For long-term failure is characterized by forgetfulness for a long time.
The patient may lose his memory partially, when some events of life are “erased” in the brain, or completely, in this case he does not remember his own name, relatives or other moments.
In modern psychology, the following is adopted amnesia classification:
- Retrograde type. The patient does not remember what was before the loss of memory.
- Anterograd type. The patient remembers the events of the past, but cannot remember anything that happens after the onset of the illness.
- Kongradnaya. Only a certain period of life disappears from memory, for example, the moment of an accident or fire.
- Dissociated type. A person retains universal knowledge, but he does not remember some facts from his life.
- Dissociative fugue. The patient does not remember his name or date of birth. He changes his place of residence, comes up with a new biography.
This period can last up to several years, then the patient can suddenly remember everything, but forget the events during the fugue.
- Pseudoreminiscence. The patient replaces real events with fictional facts and non-existent images.
According to the flow method, memory lapses are divided into:
- progressive. A person remembers events of the past, but forgets facts and information from the present. This type of pathology is characteristic of older people;
- regressing. Loss of memory occurs for a certain time, then the patient gradually remembers, but many events remain forgotten;
- stationary. Facts are permanently erased from memory and are no longer restored.
By classification adopted by luria, painful memory disorders are divided into:
- Modal non-specific. Occur with local deep lesions of the brain structure. At the same time, sight, hearing and attention are significantly lost. This group includes Korsakov syndrome and alcoholic amnesia.
- Modal-specific. For example, a person may memorize information obtained through hearing, but he does not have visual memory.
Causes in adults and children
What are memory failures? Causes of memory lapses in young and old people are divided into physiological and psychological. TO physiological include various diseases affecting brain structures:
- Head injury.
- Neuroinfections (meningitis, encephalitis).
- Metabolic disease.
- Brain surgery.
- Brain tumors.
- Autoimmune diseases.
- Pick's disease.
- Alzheimer's disease.
- Atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels.
- Alcoholism.
- Addiction.
- Hypoxia of the brain.
- Acute cerebrovascular accident.
- Chemical poisoning.
- Swelling of the brain.
- Stroke.
- Mental illness.
Reasons psychogenic amnesia become:
- Strong stress.
- Prolonged lack of sleep
- Fatigue.
- Psychotraumatic situation.
- Excessive mental stress.
- Depression.
Amnesia in children due to the following factors:
- Traumatic brain injury.
- Meningitis.
- Epilepsy.
- Strong hormonal surge (during puberty).
- Stress, unfavorable situation in the family.
Symptoms and signs
The clinical picture of the disease depends on the cause and the presence of comorbidities. With organic brain damage the patient has the following symptoms:
- dizziness, nausea;
- pain in the head;
- weakness;
- sweating;
- deterioration of the coordination of movement, vision, hearing, speech.
Psychogenic amnesia accompanied by:
- migraine;
- tachycardia;
- mood swings;
- bouts of arousal, depression or aggression;
- confusion;
- cognitive impairment.
Possible consequences
Amnesia itself is harmless. However, if it is accompanied by other diseases, it leads to disastrous results.
First, the patient begins to experience problems with cognitive skills: deteriorating intelligence, perception, and imagination.
Patients cannot write, read, perceive information. Then they lose their spatial orientation, may get lost, not capable of self catering.
In the late stages of the disease, patients lose their ability to eat, walk, cannot do without outside help, and gradually die from exhaustion.
Diagnostics
In amnesia, it is important not only to establish the fact of the disease itself, but also find out the nature of the disease and its cause. To do this, conduct the following studies:
- Electroencephalography.
- MRI or CT scan of the brain.
- Radiography of the brain vessels.
- Blood chemistry.
These methods allow you to detect changes in the brain, confirm or refute other diseases: tumors, epilepsy, atherosclerosis, vascular thrombosis.
In addition, special tests are conducted in psychiatry., eg:
- Measurement of mechanical memory. The patient must memorize 8 out of 10 words.
- Sense test. The patient retells the read text.
- Imaginative technique. Used in children and adults with speech disorders. The patient studies pictures with images of objects, animals, and must hold the information for an hour.
Treatment
Memory normalization is a long and difficult process.
is he will require a lot of strength and patience from the patient and from his relatives.
The doctor in the choice of therapy is guided by the causes of the disease, the type of amnesia, the patient's age. At a younger age, the disease is amenable to correction much faster and easier than in older patients.
There are situations when nothing can change even the most experienced doctor. This happens in the case of incurable diseases: diabetes, brain cancer, Alzheimer's disease.
In this case, it is important to preserve that part of the memory that is still there and not to allow or delay its complete loss. All recommendations will give the attending physician.
If the cause of memory loss is a brain tumor or head injury, then surgical treatment is carried out.
Treatment of psychogenic amnesia implies the use of the following methods:
- drug therapy;
- psychocorrection;
- normalization of lifestyle
Medicines
Memory-enhancing medications:
- Nootropics (Mexidol, Cinnarizine, Cerebrolysin, Phenibut). They improve the passage of electrical impulses in the central nervous system.
- Tonics. They improve metabolic processes in the brain (Glycine, Tanakan, Bilobil).
- Vitamin complexes (Vitrum memory).
Psychocorrection
In psycho-corrective methods applied mnemonics.
This is a set of techniques that improve the memorization and preservation of information.
The patient can use them independently at home or during psychotherapeutic sessions under the supervision of a specialist.
These techniques include: memorizing quatrains, writing sentences from the first letters, memorizing with the help of drawings, etc.
Lifestyle
Amnesia Patients It is important to adjust the diet, the mode of the day. The rejection of bad habits is an important component of therapy, since nicotine and alcohol have a negative effect on blood vessels.
In the diet of the patient should prevail dishes enriched with vitamins and minerals: lean meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables. To improve cerebral circulation will help regular walks, exercise, full sleep.
Also of great importance is the situation in the family. With the support of relatives and the absence of stress, the patient will quickly recover.
Patients definitely need to deal with intellectual activity. This is reading books, solving crossword puzzles, viewing educational programs. You can use intelligent computer games, tests.
Prognosis and prevention
If the patient has no progressive brain disease (epilepsy, tumor, Alzheimer's disease, dementia), then chances of getting rid of amnesia are very high.
Psychogenic disorders have the most favorable prognosis.
Prevention methods memory gaps consist in:
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- Avoiding traumatic brain injury.
- Prevention of diseases of the nervous system.
- Creating a favorable psychological environment.
- Compliance with the regime of work and rest.
- Proper nutrition.
- Maintain immunity.
- Classes of intellectual activity.
- Timely treatment of various diseases.
Memory loss is a serious problem for the patient and his relatives. Unfortunately, no one is immune from this. Partially to prevent the disease can be through prevention measures.
Memory impairment (forgetfulness) - causes and treatment:
