The Short and long term memory loss Is one of the diseases that cause greater anxiety, since it plays a fundamental role in our lives, so when it appears we are very likely to react with confusion and nervousness.
Do you note that you are increasingly having memory problems or are you worried that someone close to you has begun to show a clear loss of this mental capacity?
Unlike other pathologies, the memory It is a personal capacity that defines us completely.
In this way, when this function that we have all people is altered, it is impossible to separate memory loss from one's own identity.
If we break a leg we know that only a part of our body will be damaged for a while. However, if we lose memory we notice how we are not only losing our ability to remember, but we lose our ability to live as before and be as we were previously.
In order to manage these situations properly, it is very important to know what types of memory loss exist, what their causes are and how they can be treated.
In the face of memory loss we can often think that it is inevitable, irreversible and incurable.
Likewise, the difficulty in understanding why this happens to us, what has happened within us to begin to lose memory and what we can do to overcome it make our feelings of confusion grow.
However, science is moving forward with the aim of answering all these questions and converting memory loss into a set of identifiable, diagnosable and intervenable pathologies.
In this article we will answer the different doubts that can cause memory failures and explain what are the causes and treatments to be performed in each of the types.
What types of memory loss are there?
The memory makes three cognitive processes Fundamental, so that when we experience memory losses, these can take different forms.
The three functions of memory are perceived, learned and retained information.
In this way, the memory collects new information, organizes it so that it has a meaning and recovers it in those moments that we need to remember something.
Memory failures can appear in any of these three mechanisms, so the loss of this capacity can manifest itself in different modalities.
Specifically, memory failures can become noticeable in some of these three phases that allow recall.
1- Encoding
The codification consists in the transformation of the stimuli into a mental representation that is stored in the brain .
It is what people know popularly with the name of learning, that is, before the appearance of a new stimulus, our brain must be able to encode that information to be able to store it in our mind .
People are not able to learn if we do not pay attention and we are able to properly encode information in our brain.
So, if we suffer some alteration in this mechanism, the information can not be coded, so it can not be stored and much less remember.
2- Storage
Once the information is encrypted, it must be stored in the relevant brain structures.
Otherwise, despite having correctly captured and coded the stimulus, it will not be retained in the brain and will disappear easily.
Thus, failures in the storage action do not prevent us from capturing and encoding information, but we keep it in our mind and, therefore, we can retrieve it.
3- Recovery
It is the last phase of memory capacity and consists of recovering information that we already have in our brain structures.
As we have said, for this action to be carried out, it is necessary to have performed the previous two.
Otherwise, there will be no information stored in our mind that can be retrieved, so we will not be able to recover it.
However, even though the two previous actions have been performed properly, memory failures may occur in this last phase.
So, although the information is properly stored in our mind, it can happen that it can not be remembered, so memory loss also occurs.
Within these processes that define the capacity to remember, we find two main types of memory: short-term memory and Long-term memory .
Short-term memory
Short-term memory or primary memory is the ability to actively keep a small amount of information in mind.
So, this is the ability to find the information immediately available for a short period of time.
The duration of this memory is very brief (a few seconds) and comprises a relatively low number of elements (between 2 and 7 elements).
In order to be able to understand it better, short-term memory is one that allows us to remember relatively small information over a certain period of time.
For example, if I propose that you memorize these 6 numbers (2, 8, 4, 1, 9, 3), you will quickly see that unless you repeat them constantly, this information will remain in your memory for a few seconds.
Thus, today it is argued that this type of short-term memory, in which only a small number of concepts can be remembered over a short period of time, is a structure different from Long-term memory , Which stores indefinitely an unlimited amount of information.
This differentiation is manifested in the disease known as anterograde amnesia.
People with this phenomenon maintain intact the ability to retain small amounts of information for short periods of time (short-term memory) but have serious difficulties in forming long-term memories.
Long-term memory
Long-term memory, also called secondary memory, is a type of memory that stores memories for a period of time that can last from a few days to decades.
In fact, it is maintained that this type of memory does not have any limit of capacity or duration, so it can cover an indefinite amount of information throughout the life of a person.
Concepts such as our name, the names of our relatives or friends, relevant aspects of life and, ultimately, any type of information that we will always remember, are stored in this system of memory.
As we see, long-term memory differs from the one we discussed earlier (short-term memory) and the information retained in these structures is vital to remember the most important things in our lives.
However, short-term memory consists of a temporal enhancement of neural connections that can become long-term memory through a process of significant repetition and association.
In this way, continuing with the previous example, if the 6 numbers we have mentioned are repeating them and appear frequently in our lives, they can go from short-term memory to long-term memory.
This fact would explain why people are able to remember the phone number of our partner or our parents throughout life, since the information is stored in a much more solid structure.
However, the information retained in this structure is also susceptible to fading into the natural process of forgetting.
Thus, the long-term memory is changing, the information we have is not always the same and while new information may appear and be stored in this structure, certain information stored can be forgotten.
Causes of Memory Loss
Memory loss is a phenomenon quite common in society, since many people suffer from it.
First, you have to keep in mind that memory loss is not a disease in itself, but is a symptom of a certain disease.
In this way, many causes can cause memory loss and even more the diseases that cause it.
Below we will discuss the main causes of memory loss.
1- Consumption of alcohol and other drugs
He Alcohol consumption And other drugs that cause intoxication can cause memory loss with relative ease.
These substances can produce memory loss in two different ways: through intoxication itself and through the deterioration of the brain that causes its use prologando.
Thus, it is very common for people who become intoxicated in a high way, have difficulty remembering what happened to them during that period of time.
In these cases, it is understood that alcohol decreases the ability to encode and store information, but it returns to normal when the effects of the drug fade.
On the other hand, the consumption of alcohol can produce much more serious effects and deteriorate parts of the brain that in the long term diminish the capacity to memorize and recover memories.
2- Oxygen deficiency in the brain
Cardiac or respiratory failure, Cardiovascular accidents Or anesthesia complications can cause damage to the brain that causes a clear memory loss.
Normally the damage caused by these diseases can lead to a dementia syndrome where the cognitive capacities are decreasing more and more.
3- Brain Infections
Infections such as Lyme disease , Syphilis, enfecalitis or HIV can cause a similar effect in brain regions and decrease memory capacity.
Dementia
Dementia syndromes are the main causes of memory loss.
These can be caused by different diseases such as Alzheimer's , he Parkinson's , the Huntington's disease , the Lewy Bodies , Cerebrovascular damage, Picking disease , HIV, etc.
In dementia, memory loss is always progressive and irreversible, although its evolution may be slowed down.
5- Depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia
These diseases can cause memory loss with relative ease. In the case of depression , The memory recovers once the disease is overcome, however, the Bipolar disorder and the schizophrenia Can cause permanent deterioration.
6- Electroconvulsive therapy
This therapy used to treat schizophrenia, and some cases of depression and severe bipolar disorders, causes memory loss, especially if performed on a prolonged basis.
Also, drugs such as Barbiturates , the Benzodiazepines Or some Antipsychotics They can also cause these types of side effects.
7-Cranial trauma
Injuries and Trauma to the skull Can damage brain regions and lead to memory loss.
According to affected brain structures memory loss will have certain characteristics.
8- Nutritional problems
Deficiencies in the b12 vitamin Can directly cause a significant loss of memory. To recover the capacity is vital to supply the deficits of this vitamin.
Treatments for Memory Loss
In memory disorders, treatment is guided by its cause, which is why it is vital to get a good diagnosis and clearly identify the factors that have caused it.
So if memory failure is due to a vitamin B12 deficiency, it should be treated with vitamin B12 supplements, or if memory loss is a symptom of a disease such as Parkinson's or an infection, Towards that disease.
Apart from this, which makes up the main treatment, there are another set of strategies and activities that can accompany the treatment of memory loss. These are:
- Perform moderate physical activity daily.
- Carry out a balanced diet with nutrients that strengthen memory.
- Carry out activities of Cognitive stimulation And specific exercises to work the memory.
- Totally limit the use of alcohol and other toxic substances.
- Make adequate rest, sleeping at least 7 to 8 hours.
- In some cases, specific drugs are added to improve memory such as donapezil, rivastigmine or galantamine.
References
- Baddeley, A., Aggleton, J., Conway, M. (Eds) (2002). Episodic Memory. New Directions in Research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Baddeley, A.D., Kopleman, M.D., Wilson, B.A. (2002). The Handbook of Memory Disorders. Second Edition. Chichester (UK): John Wiley and Sons. Ltd.
- Berrios, G.E., Hodges, J. et al. (2000). Memory disorders in psychiatric practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- Schacter, D.L. (2001). The seven sins of memory: How the mind forgets and remembers. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co.
- Sáiz, D., Sáiz, M. and Baqués, J. (1996). Psychology of Memory: Manual of Practices. Avesta.
- Schacter, D.L. I Tulving, E. (1994). Memory systems. Cambridge: MIT Press.
- Tulving, E. (ed) et al. (2000). Memory, consciousness, and the brain: The Tallinn Conference. Philadelphia, PA, US: Psychology Press / Taylor & Francis.