Medical Health Encyclopedia

Memory loss

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Central nervous system

Overview Treatment

Memory loss

Definition:

Memory loss (amnesia) is unusual forgetfulness that can be caused by brain damage due to disease or injury, or it can be caused by severe emotional trauma.

Alternative Names:
Forgetfulness; Amnesia; Impaired memory; Loss of memory

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Considerations:

The cause determines whether amnesia comes on slowly or suddenly, and whether it is temporary or permanent.

Normal aging may result in trouble learning new material or requiring longer time to recall learned material. However, it does not lead to dramatic memory loss unless diseases are involved.

Common Causes:

• Aging
• Alzheimer's disease
• Neurodegenerative illness
• Head trauma or injury
• Hysteria often accompanied by confusion
• Seizures
• General anesthetics such as halothane, isoflurane, and fentanyl
• Alcoholism
• Stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• Transient global amnesia
• Drugs such as barbiturates or benzodiazepines
• Electroconvulsive therapy (especially if prolonged)
• Temporal lobe brain surgery
• Brain masses (caused by tumors or infection)
• Herpes encephalitis
• Other brain infections
• Depression

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