Lacunar Amnesia: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

Lacunar amnesia consists of difficulty remembering everyday life events corresponding to a specific period of time. As its name indicates, this pathology is related to the presence of “gaps” that prevent the proliferation of some memories. The particularity of this condition is that the person can remember the events of the previous and subsequent stages of the period that is not remembered.

This type of amnesia has different durations that will depend on the degree of severity of each person’s clinical condition.

It is important to pay special attention to the manifestations that appear in patients suffering from this pathology in order to establish the best treatment. Below, we show you the main symptoms of lacunar amnesia:

• Difficulty remembering moments from a special period.
• Insecurity in social ties.
• Isolation.
• Low self-esteem.
• Rigid body movements.
• Withdrawn speech.

It should be noted that the presence of any of these symptoms in isolation does not necessarily represent a condition of lacunar amnesia. In any case, the diagnosis must be made by a mental health professional specialized in the subject who evaluates the clinical characteristics of each patient.

What causes lacunar amnesia? Lacunar amnesia usually has a series of specific origins that are essential to be able to develop strategies that improve the quality of life of people who suffer from this condition. The most relevant causes of lacunar amnesia are:

Organic factors

In general terms, these events are usually associated with cerebrovascular accidents resulting from lesions in the cerebral cortex. As a consequence of these events, memory loss over a specific period of time may occur. In these cases, the forgotten memories would be the situations that occurred in the moments before and after the concussion.

Environmental factors

Both stress and certain traumatic events may be the basis of lacunar amnesia. Although people can respond in different ways to social pressures, in some cases these types of situations can cause periods of interrupted memories.

Fortunately, today there are various effective treatments to reduce symptoms and improve the living conditions of patients who have been diagnosed with lacunar amnesia. The most effective treatments to treat this type of amnesia are:

Psychotherapy

When the origin of this problem is found in external factors such as stress and/or traumatic situations, psychological therapy will provide tools to cope with conflicts that the patient experiences in his daily life as a consequence of amnesia in a more pleasant way.

In these cases, the mental health professional will evaluate the origin of the lacunar amnesia in order to produce an accurate and detailed description of the problem.

occupational therapy

This type of treatment aims to help the patient to manage the situations that he does not remember. In other words, occupational therapies try to make the person have strategies that reduce negative effects of the loss of memories.

Psychiatric medication

In cases of considerable severity, the supply of psychotropic drugs It is also indicated for lacunar amnesia. There are medications that act within the central nervous system and prevent further deterioration in memory, as well as help avoid the loss of other memories that remain stable for the moment.

Below, we show you some examples of lacunar amnesia in which the effects of this clinical condition can be seen:

• A woman suffers a traffic accident while driving: When your body hits the pavement you lose consciousness and when you wake up you do not remember the moments before the accident, but you do remember the events prior to driving.
• A man is very distressed because he has to pay debts so that his property is not seized: in this case, it is possible that the person has forgotten details from the moment before the embargo, but remembers all the situations prior to said moment, as well as all the events that occur subsequently.

This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

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