Lacunar amnesia

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Lacunar amnesia
Specialty Psychology

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.

Contents

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. [3]

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." [4]

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. [5]

Criminal cases

This condition is often claimed in the instance of criminal cases. The victim or assailant will insist that they have lost their memory about the event in question, but the remainder of their memory, both anterograde and retrograde, remain intact. There is only one specific memory or recollection of an event that is impaired. [2] This is normally paired or in conjunction with the claim of insanity.

This type of amnesia is used as a plot element in movies such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Memento . Both of the amnesiac conditions in these movies represent gaps in the memory instead of long-term or short-term loss.[ citation needed ] The Caretaker's 2008 album Persistent Repetition of Phrases has the name "Lacunar amnesia" as the title of its opening track. [6]

Related Research Articles

Hippocampus Vertebrate brain region involved in memory consolidation

The hippocampus is a major component of the brain of humans and other vertebrates. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in each side of the brain. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system, and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory, and in spatial memory that enables navigation. The hippocampus is located in the allocortex, with neural projections into the neocortex in humans, as well as primates. The hippocampus, as the medial pallium, is a structure found in all vertebrates. In humans, it contains two main interlocking parts: the hippocampus proper, and the dentate gyrus.

Limbic system Set of brain structures involved in emotion and motivation

The limbic system, also known as the paleomammalian cortex, is a set of brain structures located on both sides of the thalamus, immediately beneath the medial temporal lobe of the cerebrum primarily in the forebrain.

Anterograde amnesia is a loss of the ability to create new memories after the event that caused amnesia, leading to a partial or complete inability to recall the recent past, while long-term memories from before the event remain intact. This is in contrast to retrograde amnesia, where memories created prior to the event are lost while new memories can still be created. Both can occur together in the same patient. To a large degree, anterograde amnesia remains a mysterious ailment because the precise mechanism of storing memories is not yet well understood, although it is known that the regions involved are certain sites in the temporal cortex, especially in the hippocampus and nearby subcortical regions.

Anisomycin Chemical compound

Anisomycin, also known as flagecidin, is an antibiotic produced by Streptomyces griseolus which inhibits eukaryotic protein synthesis. Partial inhibition of DNA synthesis occurs at anisomycin concentrations that effect 95% inhibition of protein synthesis. Anisomycin can activate stress-activated protein kinases, MAP kinase and other signal transduction pathways.

Retrograde amnesia (RA) is a loss of memory-access to events that occurred or information that was learned in the past. It is caused by an injury or the onset of a disease. It tends to negatively affect episodic, autobiographical, and declarative memory, while keeping procedural memory intact without increasing difficulty for learning new information. RA can be temporally graded, or more permanent based on the severity of its cause. It is usually consistent with Ribot's law. The law states that subjects are more likely to lose memories closer to the traumatic incident than more memories that happened further from the incident. The type of information that is forgotten can range from a specific memory, such as a single event, or a more general memory. This would resemble generic amnesia. Anterograde amnesia is a similar condition that deals with the inability to form new memories following the onset of an injury or disease.

Lacuna may refer to:

Explicit memory is one of the two main types of long-term human memory, the other of which is implicit memory. Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of factual information, previous experiences, and concepts. This type of memory is dependent upon three processes: acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval. Explicit memory can be divided into two categories: episodic memory, which stores specific personal experiences, and semantic memory, which stores factual information. Explicit memory requires gradual learning, with multiple presentations of a stimulus and response.

Papez circuit neural circuit

The Papez circuit, or medial limbic circuit, is a neural circuit for the control of emotional expression. In 1937, James Papez proposed that the circuit connecting the hypothalamus to the limbic lobe was the basis for emotional experiences. Paul D. MacLean reconceptualized Papez's proposal and coined the term limbic system. MacLean redefined the circuit as the "visceral brain" which consisted of the limbic lobe and its major connections in the forebrain – hypothalamus, amygdala, and septum. Over time, the concept of a forebrain circuit for the control of emotional expression has been modified to include the prefrontal cortex.

Memory is described by psychology as the ability of an organism to store, retain, and subsequently retrieve information. When an individual experiences a traumatic event, whether physical or psychological, their memory can be affected in many ways. For example, trauma might affect their memory for that event, memory of previous or subsequent events, or thoughts in general. Additionally, It has been observed that memory records from traumatic events are more fragmented and disorganized than recall from non traumatic events. Comparison between narrative of events directly after a traumatic event versus after treatment indicate memories can be processed and organized and that this change is associated with decrease in anxiety related symptoms.

Retrospective memory is the memory of people, words, and events encountered or experienced in the past. It includes all other types of memory including episodic, semantic and procedural. It can be either implicit or explicit. In contrast, prospective memory involves remembering something or remembering to do something after a delay, such as buying groceries on the way home from work. However, it is very closely linked to retrospective memory, since certain aspects of retrospective memory are required for prospective memory.

Memory consolidation is a category of processes that stabilize a memory trace after its initial acquisition. A memory trace is a change in the nervous system caused by memorizing something. Consolidation is distinguished into two specific processes. The first, synaptic consolidation, which is thought to correspond to late-phase long-term potentiation, occurs on a small scale in the synaptic connections and neural circuits within the first few hours after learning. The second process is systems consolidation, occurring on a much larger scale in the brain, rendering hippocampus-dependent memories independent of the hippocampus over a period of weeks to years. Recently, a third process has become the focus of research, reconsolidation, in which previously consolidated memories can be made labile again through reactivation of the memory trace.

The neuroanatomy of memory encompasses a wide variety of anatomical structures in the brain.

Amnesia Cognitive disorder where the memory is disturbed or lost

Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease, but it can also be caused temporarily by the use of various sedatives and hypnotic drugs. The memory can be either wholly or partially lost due to the extent of damage that was caused. There are two main types of amnesia: retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia is the inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an accident or operation. In some cases the memory loss can extend back decades, while in others the person may lose only a few months of memory. Anterograde amnesia is the inability to transfer new information from the short-term store into the long-term store. People with anterograde amnesia cannot remember things for long periods of time. These two types are not mutually exclusive; both can occur simultaneously.

The management of traumatic memories is important when treating mental health disorders such as post traumatic stress disorder. Traumatic memories can cause life problems even to individuals who do not meet the diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder. They result from traumatic experiences, including natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis; violent events such as kidnapping, terrorist attacks, war, domestic abuse and rape. Traumatic memories are naturally stressful in nature and emotionally overwhelm people's existing coping mechanisms.

Memory Faculty of brain to store and retrieve data

Memory is the faculty of the brain by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered, it would be impossible for language, relationships, or personal identity to develop. Memory loss is usually described as forgetfulness or amnesia.

Childhood amnesia, also called infantile amnesia, is the inability of adults to retrieve episodic memories before the age of two to four years, as well as the period before the age of ten of which some older adults retain fewer memories than might otherwise be expected given the passage of time. The development of a cognitive self is also thought by some to have an effect on encoding and storing early memories.

Daniela Schiller is a neuroscientist who leads the Affective Neuroscience Lab at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She is best known for her work on memory reconsolidation, and on modification of emotional learning and memory.

Memory erasure is the selective artificial removal of memories or associations from the mind. Memory erasure has been shown to be possible in some experimental conditions; some of the techniques currently being investigated are: drug-induced amnesia, selective memory suppression, destruction of neurons, interruption of memory, reconsolidation, and the disruption of specific molecular mechanisms.

The hippocampus participates in the encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of memories. The hippocampus is located in the medial temporal lobe (subcortical), and is an infolding of the medial temporal cortex. The hippocampus plays an important role in the transfer of information from short-term memory to long-term memory during encoding and retrieval stages. These stages do not need to occur successively, but are, as studies seem to indicate, and they are broadly divided in the neuronal mechanisms that they require or even in the hippocampal areas that they seem to activate. According to Gazzaniga, "encoding is the processing of incoming information that creates memory traces to be stored." There are two steps to the encoding process: "acquisition" and "consolidation". During the acquisition process, stimuli are committed to the short term memory stage. Then, consolidation is where the hippocampus along with other cortical structures stabilize an object within the long term memory stage, a process strengthening over time and time again, and is a process for from whom a number of theories have arisen to explain to as of why and how it actually works. After encoding, the hippocampus is capable of going through the retrieval process. The retrieval process consists of accessing stored information; this allows learned behaviors to experience conscious depiction and execution. Encoding and retrieval are both affected by neurodegenerative and anxiety disorders and epilepsy.

Stephen Maren

Stephen Andrew Maren is an American behavioral neuroscientist investigating the brain mechanisms of emotional memory, particularly the role context plays in the behavioral expression of fear. He has discovered brain circuits regulating context-dependent memory, including mapping functional connections between the hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, and amygdala that are involved in the expression and extinction of learned fear responses.

References

  1. Goleman, Daniel (1985). Vital Lies, Simple Truths-The Psychology of Self-Deception. Bloomsbury.
  2. 1 2 Benezech, M. "Lacunar amnesia and criminal behavior: Realities and medicolegal consequences in 7 cases". Annales Médico-Psychologiques. 136: 918–931.
  3. Przybyslawski, Jean; Sara, Susan J. (March 1997). "Reconsolidation of memory after its reactivation". Behavioural Brain Research. 84 (1–2): 241–246. doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(96)00153-2. ISSN   0166-4328. PMID   9079788.
  4. Analysis: Concepts in memory-loss movies not so far-fetched, NPR Special; 3/23/2004; Alex Chadwick.
  5. Lee, Jonathan L.C. (August 2009). "Reconsolidation: maintaining memory relevance". Trends in Neurosciences. 32 (8): 413–420. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2009.05.002. ISSN   0166-2236. PMC   3650827 . PMID   19640595.
  6. Prescott, Shaun (12 April 2009). "V/VM | The Caretaker interview by Shaun Prescott". Cyclic Defrost. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2021.

[1]

  1. Johnson, Steven, 1968- (2004). Mind wide open : your brain and the neuroscience of everyday life. New York: Scribner. ISBN   0-7432-4165-7. OCLC   53289868.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)