Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentPrognosisCoping
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prognosis
Coping
Anterograde amnesiais atype of amnesiathat refers to an inability to create new memories. This hinders the ability to learn something new.
The inability to create new memories means that people with anterograde amnesia forget things they just learned or experienced, like the identity of someone they just met or the meal they had earlier in the day. Anterograde amnesia is different fromretrograde amnesia, which is the inability to remember old memories.
This article talks about the symptoms and causes of anterograde amnesia and possible treatment options that may help make living with anterograde amnesia a little easier.
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Anterograde Amnesia Symptoms
As anterograde amnesia affects the ability to create new memories, symptoms involve not being able to remember new information. For example, someone with anterograde amnesia may forget things like:
Research has shown that anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia often occur together and near the same level of severity.This means that someone with anterograde amnesia may also have symptoms of retrograde amnesia, which affects the ability to remember past events.
However, the two conditions are different. Anterograde amnesia can be thought of as short-term memory loss. Someone with anterograde amnesia will have issues remembering things that happen after the event that caused their amnesia. This is different from retrograde amnesia, which affects the memory of what happened before the amnesia-causing event.
While movies and videos may portray short-term memory loss (like Dory inFinding Nemo) in a lighthearted way, the condition can be severely debilitating. Problems with short-term memory add stress to everyday life and make relating to others more difficult as names and details about others escape the memory.
In addition, challenges with short-term memory can make it harder to store information for long-term memory.
Memory Disorders: The Diseases That Cause Forgetfulness
Various factors can increase the risk of anterograde amnesia, each of which is an injury or trauma to the brain. Below are some causes of anterograde amnesia and where anterograde amnesia comes into play:
A healthcare provider may also ask questions or do a memory test to better understand thememory lossexperienced and what may have caused the anterograde amnesia. For example, a healthcare provider may do the following as part of their diagnosis:
Determining what type of memories are affected—whether the memory of recent events or events from long ago—will help distinguish whether anterograde or retrograde amnesia is present.
While difficulties recalling memories is common and normal, it’s important to distinguish anterograde amnesia from memory issues that happen as a normal part of aging or even during high-stress times (like brain fog).
Only a qualified healthcare provider can accurately diagnose anterograde amnesia, determine what may have caused it, and recommend the next steps, including treatment options.
A brain scan, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)or computed tomography (CT), may be used to help diagnose the underlying cause of anterograde amnesia. A healthcare provider will use these images to determine if there are physical abnormalities in the brain.
Anterograde amnesia does not affect implicit memory, a type of memory that doesn’t require the recollection of past events or information. People with anterograde amnesia may benefit from procedural learning and priming.
Procedural learning involves learning through motor and cognitive skills, such as riding a bike or driving a car. Research suggests that repetition of information, such as in procedural learning, can help with performing a task even when the memory of prior experience does not exist.
Priming involves giving cues to help someone learn, which, over time, can help them remember information with fewer cues.
Some cases of anterograde amnesia are temporary, while others are long-lasting. It depends on what caused the anterograde amnesia and whether that can be managed.
For example, severe damage to memory-forming parts of the brain may lead to permanent memory loss that worsens over time. However, in the case of transient global amnesia, anterograde amnesia is significant but temporary.
Living with anterograde amnesia can be debilitating, especially if it is long-term. The inability to learn new information can make it feel impossible to try new tasks or meet new people.
Summary
Causes of anterograde amnesia are centered around injury or trauma to parts of the brain that are critical for memory. Determining the underlying cause of anterograde amnesia will help determine the appropriate treatment through management.
8 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Smith CN, Frascino JC, Hopkins RO, Squire LR.The nature of anterograde and retrograde memory impairment after damage to the medial temporal lobe.Neuropsychologia. 2013;51(13):2709-2714. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.015Benzodiazepines. In:LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; January 24, 2017.Brion M, Pitel AL, Beaunieux H, Maurage P.Revisiting the continuum hypothesis: toward an in-depth exploration of executive functions in korsakoff syndrome.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:498. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00498Maeshima S, Osawa A.Memory impairment due to stroke. In: Dehkharghani S, ed.Stroke. Brisbane (AU): Exon Publications; June 18, 2021.Boere E, Kamperman AM, van ’t Hoog AE, van den Broek WW, Birkenhäger TK.Anterograde amnesia during electroconvulsive therapy: a prospective pilot-study in patients with major depressive disorder.PLoS One. 2016;11(10):e0165392. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165392Sparaco M, Pascarella R, Muccio CF, Zedde M.Forgetting the unforgettable: Transient global amnesia part I: Pathophysiology and etiology.J Clin Med. 2022;11(12):3373. doi:10.3390/jcm11123373Vella S, Grech R.Highlighting the classical MRI findings in transient global amnesia.BJR Case Rep. 2020;6(2):20190111. doi:10.1259/bjrcr.20190111Schendan HE.Implicit memory. In:Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. Elsevier; 2017:B9780128093245065000. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.06459-2
8 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Smith CN, Frascino JC, Hopkins RO, Squire LR.The nature of anterograde and retrograde memory impairment after damage to the medial temporal lobe.Neuropsychologia. 2013;51(13):2709-2714. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.015Benzodiazepines. In:LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; January 24, 2017.Brion M, Pitel AL, Beaunieux H, Maurage P.Revisiting the continuum hypothesis: toward an in-depth exploration of executive functions in korsakoff syndrome.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:498. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00498Maeshima S, Osawa A.Memory impairment due to stroke. In: Dehkharghani S, ed.Stroke. Brisbane (AU): Exon Publications; June 18, 2021.Boere E, Kamperman AM, van ’t Hoog AE, van den Broek WW, Birkenhäger TK.Anterograde amnesia during electroconvulsive therapy: a prospective pilot-study in patients with major depressive disorder.PLoS One. 2016;11(10):e0165392. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165392Sparaco M, Pascarella R, Muccio CF, Zedde M.Forgetting the unforgettable: Transient global amnesia part I: Pathophysiology and etiology.J Clin Med. 2022;11(12):3373. doi:10.3390/jcm11123373Vella S, Grech R.Highlighting the classical MRI findings in transient global amnesia.BJR Case Rep. 2020;6(2):20190111. doi:10.1259/bjrcr.20190111Schendan HE.Implicit memory. In:Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. Elsevier; 2017:B9780128093245065000. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.06459-2
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Smith CN, Frascino JC, Hopkins RO, Squire LR.The nature of anterograde and retrograde memory impairment after damage to the medial temporal lobe.Neuropsychologia. 2013;51(13):2709-2714. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.015Benzodiazepines. In:LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; January 24, 2017.Brion M, Pitel AL, Beaunieux H, Maurage P.Revisiting the continuum hypothesis: toward an in-depth exploration of executive functions in korsakoff syndrome.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:498. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00498Maeshima S, Osawa A.Memory impairment due to stroke. In: Dehkharghani S, ed.Stroke. Brisbane (AU): Exon Publications; June 18, 2021.Boere E, Kamperman AM, van ’t Hoog AE, van den Broek WW, Birkenhäger TK.Anterograde amnesia during electroconvulsive therapy: a prospective pilot-study in patients with major depressive disorder.PLoS One. 2016;11(10):e0165392. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165392Sparaco M, Pascarella R, Muccio CF, Zedde M.Forgetting the unforgettable: Transient global amnesia part I: Pathophysiology and etiology.J Clin Med. 2022;11(12):3373. doi:10.3390/jcm11123373Vella S, Grech R.Highlighting the classical MRI findings in transient global amnesia.BJR Case Rep. 2020;6(2):20190111. doi:10.1259/bjrcr.20190111Schendan HE.Implicit memory. In:Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. Elsevier; 2017:B9780128093245065000. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.06459-2
Smith CN, Frascino JC, Hopkins RO, Squire LR.The nature of anterograde and retrograde memory impairment after damage to the medial temporal lobe.Neuropsychologia. 2013;51(13):2709-2714. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.015
Benzodiazepines. In:LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. Bethesda (MD): National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; January 24, 2017.
Brion M, Pitel AL, Beaunieux H, Maurage P.Revisiting the continuum hypothesis: toward an in-depth exploration of executive functions in korsakoff syndrome.Front Hum Neurosci. 2014;8:498. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00498
Maeshima S, Osawa A.Memory impairment due to stroke. In: Dehkharghani S, ed.Stroke. Brisbane (AU): Exon Publications; June 18, 2021.
Boere E, Kamperman AM, van ’t Hoog AE, van den Broek WW, Birkenhäger TK.Anterograde amnesia during electroconvulsive therapy: a prospective pilot-study in patients with major depressive disorder.PLoS One. 2016;11(10):e0165392. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165392
Sparaco M, Pascarella R, Muccio CF, Zedde M.Forgetting the unforgettable: Transient global amnesia part I: Pathophysiology and etiology.J Clin Med. 2022;11(12):3373. doi:10.3390/jcm11123373
Vella S, Grech R.Highlighting the classical MRI findings in transient global amnesia.BJR Case Rep. 2020;6(2):20190111. doi:10.1259/bjrcr.20190111
Schendan HE.Implicit memory. In:Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology. Elsevier; 2017:B9780128093245065000. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809324-5.06459-2
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