Are there different types of amnesia?

Are there different types of amnesia?

There are many different names for amnesia and amnesia syndromes. Here are a few common terms you may encounter:

• Retrograde Amnesia: Describes amnesia where you can’t recall memories that were formed before the event that caused the amnesia. It usually affects recently stored past memories, not memories from years ago.
• Anterograde Amnesia: Describes amnesia where you can’t form new memories after the event that caused the amnesia. Anterograde amnesia is far more common than retrograde.
• Post-traumatic Amnesia: This is amnesia that occurs immediately after a significant head injury. It may involve retrograde amnesia, anterograde amnesia, or both.
• Transient Global Amnesia: A temporary syndrome where you experience both retrograde and anterograde amnesia. Memory loss is sudden and only lasts up to 24 hours.
• Infantile Amnesia: This is the term used to describe the fact that people can’t recall memories of events from early childhood. Few people have memories from before the ages of three to five because the brain areas that support memory are still developing.
• Dissociative Amnesia/Psychogenic Amnesia: A mental health disorder where you experience amnesia after a significant trauma. You block out both personal information and the traumatic incident from your memory.