Memory Problems: Their 3 Types And Possible Causes
The memory is probably one of the most relevant cognitive abilities when organizing our lives.
The ability to remember our history and identity, to preserve our experiences and to keep in mind what we have just done or what we have to do are elements that are largely derived from different types of memory, the deterioration of this capacity being cause of concern for most people.
The reason for this is, in many cases, the association of memory loss with the neurodegeneration typical of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. But although memory deficits and alterations do appear in many of these diseases, Memory problems are not limited only to neurodegenerative diseases
In this article we are going to analyze what we consider memory problems and some of the different contexts or situations in which they can appear.
When we say that someone or that we ourselves have a memory problem, we are generally referring to the fact that we have experienced some (usually several) situation in which we have forgotten information that we have previously learned and/or that we should have remembered or had. remembered.
This lack of memories can be experienced in different ways, and in some cases they could be indicating the presence of some important difficulty. Specifically, the increasing concern regarding dementias such as Alzheimer’s means that these failures often generate a high level of distress and visits to the doctor and neuropsychologist.
Checking the possible reasons for these failures is more than recommended and especially from certain ages onwards, but we must also take into account that There are many factors that can cause memory problems throughout life, many of them normal and not pathological per se. However, when memory problems are habitual and repetitive, it is highly recommended to go to a professional to assess the presence of serious difficulties.
Nor should we immediately identify memory problems with advanced age: Young people and adults can also suffer from different errors for different reasons be it punctually or with some frequency.
Another important aspect to take into account is the fact that although the problem that usually concerns us usually occurs in memory or evocation, in fact memory is a process that is not limited only to that moment: for a memory to become one requires that information is first captured, encoded, processed, retained and finally recovered. Thus, a memory problem could actually occur at any of these moments, and it could also happen that some interference appears that makes subsequent memory difficult.
Memory problems are often confused or identified with the presence of problems in other mental skills and abilities. This is not a strange mistake, since the truth is that a large number of mental abilities are linked to memory
Probably one of the most frequent confusions is between memory problems and attention problems.
And attention problems often make it difficult or even prevent information from being recorded correctly, affecting the capture and processing of the information to be memorized, which in subsequent recall tests could be interpreted as a memory problem. This occurs both in the face of existing attention difficulties and in situations in which simultaneous attention to different stimuli is required.
Types of memory problems
There are many types of memory and many impairments that can appear in this capacity. As a summary, we are going to mention some of the best known.
1. Amnesia
Amnesia is defined as the inability to remember past experiences in the case of retrograde amnesia or as the inability to encode and store new information in memory in the case of anterograde amnesia, derived from the presence of a brain injury (such as amnesic) or due to emotional or psychological causes (in the case of dissociative amnesia).
Amnesia can be temporary or permanent, depending on each case, and include or influence a longer or shorter period of time.
2. Paramnesias and parapraxias
Paramnesias are understood as those memory problems characterized by the presence of distortions or incorporations of false elements in the memory or associated with an erroneous temporality. It is not that the subject does not remember, but that these memories are altered
On the other hand, parapraxies are understood as memory errors typical of healthy subjects and that are usually based on the forgetting of details or difficulties in the production of a memory that we know is present.
Within these groups we find memory problems such as confabulation (introducing elements to fill in memories, unconsciously), the tip of the tongue phenomenon (when a word that deep down we know we know doesn’t come out), temporary gaps or the loss of details due to the automation of known tasks.
Also recognition problems may be seen such as the well-known “deja vu” (experiencing something for the first time although we have the sensation of having experienced it before) and “jamais vu” (the opposite) or cryptoamnesia (believing that a memory is not a memory but rather something that happens now for the first time). ).
We rarely identify the fact of remembering too much, but the truth is that for some people it can be. This is what happens with the flashes experienced when consuming some drugs in post-traumatic stress disorder or in psychopathological conditions such as paranoia or ecmnesia (in which one believes oneself to be living in the past.
Causes and situations in which they occur
There are multiple possible causes, contexts and situations that can be linked to the appearance of a memory problem. Among them we can find prominently some that are in fact normative and others that derive from some type of pathology or acquired situation
1. Interferences in the memorization process
Our knowledge is influenced by the events and learning that we receive over time. One of the possible reasons why a memory problem may appear that does not have to imply pathology is the interference generated by what was learned before or after the event to be remembered.
This is easier to understand with an example: if I learn a telephone number at a given moment and a little before or a little later we have learned another, It is likely that we will forget some of the numbers or confuse them
2. Lack of sleep and/or nutrition
Tiredness and fatigue are aspects that can severely impair our mental abilities. Sleep in general is associated with the recovery of the body and nervous system.
REM sleep is associated with the consolidation of memories in memory Sleep deprivation generally impairs higher mental processes, especially including memory. Furthermore, the attention and concentration necessary to detect, capture and process information will also be impaired if we do not sleep enough.
3. Stress and anxiety
Having to do many things at the same time, being agitated or nervous or suffering from anxiety or burnout can also be other reasons for memory problems to appear.
Although they are especially evident in the case of prospective memory (towards the future, that is, remembering that you have to do a certain thing), errors, blockages or forgetting of specific experiences in the past or memory may also appear. the difficulty of recording new information
A large part of these memory problems are linked to attention problems, with the subject being concentrated and immersed in anxiety or stressful situation.
4. Health problems
Memory is also affected by different physical illnesses. For example, breathing problems can cause less blood to reach the brain something that has a direct impact on its functioning and in certain areas can affect the ability to remember.
Also problems and diseases such as anemia, diabetes, excessive blood loss or lack of vitamins and other nutrients can cause memory problems. The same can be said of the presence of tumors that affect or put pressure on certain brain areas.
The consumption of alcohol and different drugs has also been associated with the appearance of memory problems, blockages and other various problems. In some cases, disorders such as Korsakoff syndrome may appear, in which memory is severely affected.
Likewise, some drugs can also cause memory problems as a side effect, such as some psychotropic drugs (although other medications are also associated with this). In the event that memory deficits appear it may be possible to look for an analogous drug to avoid this effect or evaluate the pros and cons of maintaining treatment.
6. Depression and other mood disorders
Depression can also cause memory problems, based among other factors on the mental slowing that it can entail, rumination and concentration problems that may be associated with this diagnosis. It is not strange that blockages, evocation failures resulting from lack of attention or bias toward remembering negative events
7. Normative aging
We all know that most people, as we age, lose our faculties. We become slower, we have more mobility problems and we need more time to reason
The same thing happens with memory: as a general rule (although not always) most of us lose the ability to learn new things and it is easier for mistakes and forgetfulness to appear. This is due to the aging of neurons, and it is common for regions of the brain such as the hippocampus to shrink or for the blood level in them to reduce.
All of this means that we can say that some memory loss is to be expected, although The level of loss must be monitored, if it generates dysfunctions or if an obvious decrease is perceived with respect to previous moments.
8. Acquired brain damage: head trauma and strokes
Traffic accidents or different types of blows to the head can also cause memory problems, in the form of amnesia, whether anterograde (recording new information) or retrograde (from previous knowledge or experiences). This can happen at any age.
Likewise, strokes (whether hemorrhagic or ischemic) can affect brain areas linked to memory, such as the hippocampus. In fact, in some cases vascular dementia may end up developing derived from the presentation of cerebral infarctions, which depending on the affected areas can cause alterations in memory.
9. Processes of cognitive deterioration and dementia
Although we have started this article by pointing out that not every memory problem implies dementia, we cannot fail to mention this type of disorder along with mild cognitive impairment and the deterioration that arises in other mental disorders as one of the causes of memory problems.
In the case of dementia, these memory problems In most cases, they will tend to become accentuated and aggravated over time due to neurodegeneration.
