Memory Loss
Memories of persons vary depending on the individual's state of mind and the content of the information. Short term memory is synonymous with working memory. This is a specialized term referring to information about the current task. Commonly also referred to as amnesia, memory loss can be described as a degree of forgetfulness or failure to recall past events which is above the normal level. At times, memory loss is limited to an inability to recall events that are recent, but sometimes it could also be for events from the past or both.
Types of memory loss
Depending upon its cause, memory loss could be sudden or gradual, and permanent or temporary. A transient global amnesia is rare and is a complete but temporary memory loss. In anterograde amnesia on the other hand, the individual cannot recall recent events occurring after a trauma but can recall events of distant past. Retrograde amnesia is when the individual cannot recollect events preceding or leading up to the trauma. But he/she can recall all subsequent events.
Causes for short term memory loss
Short term memory loss is a symptom of many possible causes including disease, dyslexia, depression, injury or chronic drug and alcohol abuse. Other possible causes for amnesia can be Alzheimer's disease, tumor in the brain, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, meningitis, Parkinson's disease, Pick disease, epilepsy, stroke and West Nile virus.
Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive mental disorder that brings about changes in the brain slowly leading to dementia. Here the brain cells degenerate and die thus causing a decline in the mental functioning and memory of a person. This kind of brain disorder causes loss of social and intellectual skills of a person. In severe cases it interferes with the day-to-day activities of a person.
Alzheimer’s disease causes
- Most scientists believe that Alzheimer’s disease is caused due to increase in production and accumulation of a protein called beta-amyloid protein. The accumulation of this protein leads to nerve cell death.
- Environment factors that causes a change in the brain’s functioning can also lead to Alzheimer’s disease
- Genetic causes
- Head injury
- Lifestyle changes that causes change in the brain’s functioning can also lead to Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s disease symptoms
- Forgetfulness, unusual difficulty in remembering things
- Mild confusion
- Occasional memory lapse
- Disorientation day, date, etc.
- Problem with speaking and writing
- Problem in thinking and reasoning
- Decision making problems
- Depression, anxiety, mood swing and many such behavioral problems
- Problems with cognitive skills like calculating, judgment, etc
Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis
1. A physical examination and a neurological examination to check
- Muscle tone and strength
- Sense of touch and sight
- Reflexes
- Balance
- Coordination, etc.
2. Brain imaging (CT scans, MRI) to check for tumors, etc.
3. Lab tests for thyroid etc so as to rule out other possibilities for memory loss
Treating Alzheimer’s disease
- Drugs to deal with cognitive changes and memory symptoms
- Exercise
- Well balanced and nutritious food
- Life style changes that help deal with and improve the current condition
Amygdala
Amygdala is an almond shaped limbic structure placed within the brain's temporal lobe. It is involved in the processing of emotions, fears, motivation, anger etc. The amygdala plays a major role in processing our memories, in particular those that have emotional impact. In fact, our response to a particular event is triggered by the neurons in the amygdala. All the social stimuli we get are assimilated by the amygdala thereby making us responsive to a gaze, face or voice. It is involved in some of our cognitive functions like perception and attention. For all this, the amygdala is closely associated with the hippocampus and the hypothalamus.
Since amygdala is the structure associated with the limbic system, its functions are predominantly associated with emotions pertaining to the survival of the individual. These emotions can be categorized into types such as anger, fear, pleasure, hormonal secretion etc. The amygdala is also responsible for the storage of information as memory. It also helps in organizing the type of memory stored and where it has to be stored.
Amygdala is associated with the fear factor that is generated in a person. This is because the amygdala provides an autonomic response when associated with fear. This condition is also called as operant conditioning. Amygdala is generally associated with panic attack response, a subconscious response. It enables a person to be anxious or worried or escape a particular type situation. Although there is an element of anxiousness in every person, the level of anxiety varies. The memory of the anxious event is retained in the brain and the neural synapses store the information of the anxious condition in which fear was the response created by the amygdala. This facilitates the release of stress hormones which in turn yield to the symptoms associated with anxiety disorders.
Symptoms of overactive amygdala
The Amygdala in an over-activated condition responds to the physiological, environmental and chemical stress caused to an individual. The response may vary from small to big depending upon the situation and other physiological factors. The response of the amygdala facilitates into a condition called conditioned stress response, in which various conditions such as muscle fatigue, neurotransmitter and stress hormone release, sympathetic arousal, sleep deprivation, immune reactivation etc occurs. Along with these responses, sexual responses such as erection, copulation, ejaculation, ovulation, preterm labor etc. also occur.
The treatment includes medication which affects the amygdala. There is no proven result of the medication which influences the amygdala in response to anxiety. Most treatment methodologies include cognitive behavioral therapy.
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