Ecmnesia: Definition, Causes And Similar Phenomena
Sometimes, such as in cases of epileptic seizures, brain injury, or intoxication by hallucinogenic substances, it is possible to experience memories from the past very vividly, as if they were happening in the present. This relatively little-studied phenomenon is called “ecmnesia.”
In this article We will define the main characteristics of ecmnesia and explain what its causes are. We will also talk about paramnesias, other peculiar phenomena related to memory, such as flash memories or cryptoamnesia.
Ecmnesia is a perceptual alteration that consists of experiencing situations that occurred in the past as if they were happening in the present. These experiences have a very intense vividness and while they occur the person behaves as they would if they were really in it, with great emotional involvement.
This is why ecmnesia can be considered a type of hallucinatory experience, although this phenomenon is often referred to in scientific literature on the psychology of memory. Besides, The concept “ecmenesic delirium” highlights the delusional content of these experiences because often those who have them believe that they are truly living them.
Ecmnesia does not always have a pathological character, but its clinical consideration depends on the context in which it occurs. For example, if they appear due to the occasional consumption of a hallucinogenic drug, these experiences could not properly be understood as memory alterations.
Sometimes the term ecmnesia It is also used to refer to other memory disorders which are not always related to hallucinations. Specifically, some medical dictionaries define ecmnesia as the loss of recent memories, while others add that memory is maintained for the remote past.
Causes
The frequency of ecmnesia is very low. Experiences of this type have been described in cases of brain injury, especially different forms of dementia which deteriorate the tissue of the nervous system, causing alterations in consciousness, cognition and memory.
Other biological alterations that are associated with ecmnesia are delirium or confusional syndrome, which frequently appears in hospitalized elderly people, and the twilight states typical of temporal epilepsy. These transitory phenomena are characterized by an alteration in consciousness that prevents the environment from being perceived correctly.
There are various types of substances with hallucinogenic effects that can cause perceptual alterations similar to those we have described. Some of the best known hallucinogenic drugs are mushrooms containing psilocybin, mescaline (found in the peyote cactus) and lysergic acid or LSD.
Psychological literature also relates ecmnesia to hysteria, although this diagnostic category has been abandoned over time. In these cases, it is more likely that reminiscence is due to autosuggestion and not to biological factors, as occurs with drugs or brain lesions.
Other similar phenomena: paramnesias
Ecmnesia is classified as a paramnesia, a term used to describe memory disorders that include false memories and/or erroneous perception of temporal context. Other authors include ecmnesia in the group of hypermnesias, an ambiguous concept that refers to the presence of abnormally clear memories.
Below we will briefly describe the main characteristics of 5 other types of paramnesia: pseudomemories (confabulation and fantastic pseudology), déjà vu and its opposite, jamais vu, reduplicative paramnesia, cryptoamnesia and flash memories.
1. Confabulation and fantastic pseudology
These two phenomena are pseudomemories: they consist of the spontaneous and involuntary creation of false memories to fill memory gaps. Confabulation is the basic form and is associated with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, while fantastic pseudology is characterized by impossible narratives and appears in Münchausen syndrome.
2. Déjà vu and jamais vu
The famous déjà vu happens when, faced with a new experience, we have the feeling that we have already lived it. It is associated with fatigue, depersonalization and epilepsy. On the contrary, in jamais vu something that we already know does not generate a feeling of familiarity.
3. Reduplicative paramnesia
Reduplicative paramnesia consists of the feeling that you know a place or a person which is actually unknown to the subject; The classic example is that of a hospital. Although reminiscent of déjà vu, this phenomenon is rather associated with pseudomemories and appears in Korsakoff syndrome, dementia and confusional states.
4. Cryptoamnesia
In cryptoamnesia a memory is mistakenly perceived as if it were a new production. It is very common in fields such as art or science: the semantic memory appears without also recovering the context in which this memory trace was generated, so it is believed that an idea or thought has been had that actually comes from another person.
5. Flash memories
Flashback memories are recorded very vividly because of the impact the situation had on the person. A typical example is remembering what was being done during the attack on the Twin Towers. Memories of traumatic episodes could also be conceived as flash memories, and rarely as ecmesia.
