Memory Psychopathologies: Characteristics, Types And Symptoms
The human being is made up of memories. What we are is nothing more than what we are capable of remembering and integrating, the experiences that were lived in the past and defined us. This is why memory is such an important and valuable cognitive function.
Some life circumstances, from the unstoppable passage of time to the appearance of diseases or the occurrence of accidents of various kinds, can compromise the way in which life is expressed temporarily or permanently.
In this article we will address the phenomenon of memory psychopathologies that is, the ways in which it can be altered (both in its ability to recover pieces of information and in any other of its properties).
We will also reserve space for other memory phenomena that may occur in the general population, and that do not suggest any underlying disorder.
There are many diseases and situations that can affect the functioning of memory, since it is a dimension widely distributed in the brain parenchyma In this article we will delve into the different forms of amnesia and the anomalies of memory or recognition, that is, the psychopathologies of memory.
1. Amnesia
The term “amnesia”, of Greek origin (and which could be translated as “forgetfulness”), subsumes a large group of memory disorders; heterogeneous with regard to its origin, prognosis and clinical expression Next, each of them will be delved into.
1.1. retrograde amnesia
Retrograde amnesia is perhaps the best-known memory problem. Is described as a specific difficulty in evoking events from the past, but the ability to create new memories remains unchanged
It mainly affects episodic information, or what is the same, the events experienced (while maintaining semantics, procedural information, etc.). It is usually one of the many consequences derived from brain trauma, or dementia diseases that affect large regions of the nervous system.
1.2. Anterograde amnesia
Anterograde amnesia is a memory impairment characterized by the difficulty or impossibility of generating new memories from a specific moment Thus, what is altered is consolidation, or the process that transfers information from the short-term warehouse to the long-term warehouse (where it remains fixed for a longer time). The memory of the past remains intact.
Brain lesions in the hippocampal structures have been consistently associated with this type of problems, as well as drug abuse (alcohol, benzodiazepines, etc.).
1.3. Transient global amnesia
These are acute episodes in which the person suffering from this problem expresses the difficulty of remembering events beyond the last ones that occurred in your life ; although perception, attention and the rest of the cognitive processes are maintained at their basal level of functioning.
Access to more distant memories is also usually affected; but not the name, identity, origin or other basic and consolidated information in deep strata of self-definition (as well as the ability to carry out actions over which he had control).
The person may appear emotionally affected, as they are aware of the deficit that affects them. Particularly suggestive of this problem is the perseverance in actions and the questions asked to the people around, since the answer is forgotten almost immediately. The episode usually resolves within a few hours (less than 24), and the underlying cause remains largely unknown.
Lacunar amnesia describes the inability to access information about specific events or periods , with very specific temporal coordinates. The person could remember everything that happened both before and after the events, but never what happened during them. It is related to occasional laxity in the level of attention or altered states of consciousness (such as coma), but it is also common in strokes and trauma.
1.5. post-traumatic amnesia
Post-traumatic amnesia has an obvious etiology: a blow to the head. Although it can manifest in different ways, and have a clinical presentation similar to that described in anterograde/retrograde, it has the particularity of being a reliable indicator of the severity of the trauma suffered In mild cases it can last for just a few minutes, while in severe cases (more than a day) it can be permanent.
1.6. functional amnesia
Functional amnesia describes any memory disorder for which an organic cause cannot be established after carrying out all types of examinations , among which neuroimaging tests stand out. On the other hand, a thorough assessment of the circumstances in which it develops does allow it to be associated with events of high emotional charge, which would emerge as its most probable cause. One of the most common cases is post-traumatic stress, although it can also be observed in dissociative disorders (from escape to dissociative identity).
1.7. infantile amnesia
Infantile amnesia is one whose presence is natural during childhood, as a result of incomplete neurological development. Deficient maturation of the hippocampus is involved in the phenomenon which prevents the formation of declarative memories.
Despite this circumstance, the early development of the amygdala does facilitate the articulation of an emotional imprint for these events, even though during adulthood they cannot be described using exact words. It is for this reason that, although we cannot remember what happened during the first years, it can affect us on an emotional level.
2. Memory anomalies
Memory anomalies are common in the general population, although some of them manifest themselves preferentially under the influence of the consumption of certain substances or a pathology of the central nervous system. In the following lines we will explore what they are and what they may be due to.
2.1. Incomplete personal memory
This phenomenon occurs when we meet a person with whom we have met in the past, and even though we are aware of such a nuance, we cannot identify what we know it from (or from where). In this case a memory is produced, although attenuated and incomplete, since part of the information is not available. It is a common experience that is associated with the absence of contextual clues that facilitate the process, that is, with the fact of finding the person in an unusual space (different from the one in which we usually place them).
2.2. feeling of knowing
Is about a feeling (bordering on certainty) that we have knowledge about a specific event , or about a term, although we ultimately failed in trying to prove them. It happens especially with words or concepts, that although they are familiar when we read or hear about them, we cannot evoke their exact meaning. This produces an imprecise recognition, motivated by the morphological relationship of two terms: one really known and another that is believed to be known.
The tip of the tongue phenomenon (also known as Top of Tongue or simply TOT) describes the extremely uncomfortable sensation that arises when we find ourselves unable to pronounce a specific word, despite knowing it and wanting to use it in the context of a conversation This phenomenon is more frequent in terms of rare use, although it also occurs in more everyday ones, and tends to be exacerbated under conditions of fatigue or stress. It may be more common, too, as the years go by.
Often the person remembers some of the properties of the word he intends to use, such as the beginning or the end, and tries to carry out a subvocalization in order to “find it.” Paradoxically, this effort often inhibits the emergence of such a longed-for word, since it is a reality that very often is revealed only when we stop thinking about it.
2.4. Temporary lagoon
Temporal gaps are moments in life in which, due to a significant lack of attention, we have not been able to create an evocable memory of what happened. It can happen while performing an activity automated by habit (driving, cooking, etc.), so that its development would take place while we are thinking about other things, and we do not form memories about what happened “in the meantime.” It is a kind of self-absorption or even distractibility, in which awareness of time is lost.
2.5. Task verification
Some tasks are carried out in such a routine manner that, despite paying attention while doing them, it can be difficult to discriminate whether they were actually carried out or not. This is because its repetition exerts an interference effect, and the person manifests difficulty in Identify if the memory found in your “head” corresponds to this last occasion or if it is actually the trace of a previous day The “problem” leads to constant checking of the action (closing a door, turning off the stove, etc.).
2.6. Pseudomemory
Pseudomemory is a generic category that includes all those processes in which a false or completely inaccurate memory is evoked. The most frequent of them is collusion , which consists of the “fabrication” of false memories to fill in the empty spaces of those who (for various reasons) cannot recall the entirety of an experienced episode. The purpose here is, therefore, to provide meaning to an experience that lacks it due to its incompleteness, like a puzzle that is missing key pieces to solve it.
Another example is fantastic pseudology. In this case false memories are created deliberately, but They cannot be explained by memory gaps, but rather by an unresolved emotional need The aim would be to generate “events” consistent with the desire to feel one way or another, which would tend to accentuate their intensity in the event that the interlocutor showed interest in them (until they become completely impossible and truly fantastical acts).
Finally, Many authors include delusional memories in this category , through which the person forms reminiscences of a past that never took place. However, such a construction makes sense because it links the present experience (distorted by delirium) with the past, thus drawing a timeline congruent with the content of current thoughts and perceptions.
3. Recognition anomalies
Recognition anomalies are errors in the way in which a memory or a stimulus located in the present is processed, and which could be summarized as false positive recognitions (feeling that one “remembers” an event that is being experienced for the first time). or false negative recognitions (perception that something previously experienced appears before our eyes as totally new).
In the last times Its co-occurrence with psychiatric disorders has been highlighted , fundamentally depersonalization, as well as in the context of epilepsy or lesions of the temporal cortex. In the case of people without pathology, it is much shorter and less intense.
Cryptomnesia consists of the firm belief that a memory is not such, but that it is an original production. Thus, there is a risk of adopting other people’s ideas or reflections as one’s own , since their access to memory lacks familiarity and/or recognition. It is common in scientific and artistic fields, and has motivated countless lawsuits over the years for plagiarism or misuse of intellectual property.
