Memory Loss and Traumatic Brain Injury

Amnesia, or memory loss is on of the most common symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury. As seen in movies, a lot of characters suffer memory loss after a blow to the head. While most movies are fictitious, it is indeed true that memory loss is the most common cognitive side effect of a severe Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI. In patients with a milder Traumatic Brain Injury, memory loss is still one of the most common symptoms. And the more severe the patient's memory loss is, the more severe the brain damage is likely to be.

Traumatic Brain Injury and Temporary Memory Loss

Some traumatic brain injury-related amnesia is temporary; such patients are usually unable to recall what happened directly before, during and after their accidents. This is often caused by edema, or a swelling of the brain in response to the damage it sustained. Because the brain is pressed against the skull, parts that were not injured are still not able to work. As the swelling goes down, the patient's memory returns, often slowly over a period of weeks, months or even years. Temporary memory loss may also be an emotional response to the stress of the event that caused the Traumatic Brain Injury.

Other, less common, types of memory loss stemming from traumatic brain injury are fixed. These result from damage to the nerves and axons (connections between nerves) of the brain itself. Because the brain cannot heal itself like an arm or a leg, any function that is damaged during a Traumatic Brain Injury is permanently impaired unless the brain can learn to perform that function differently. Fixed amnesia may include inability to remember events before the injury, or loss of memory of the meanings of certain things, such as words or smells or objects. Less commonly, a person may not remember skills he or she had before the Traumatic Brain Injury.

Brain Damage and Ante retrograde Amnesia

A patient with Traumatic Brain Injury may also develop ante retrograde amnesia, which is the inability to form memories of events that happened after the injury. The reason for this is not well understood, but  researchers  found that Traumatic Brain Injuries reduce the levels of a protein in the brain that helps it balance its activity. Without enough of that protein, the brain can "overload", the researchers said, interfering with memory formation, particularly the ability to learn new things.

Treatment Options for Traumatic Brain Injury Patients with Amnesia

There is no treatment for memory loss caused by a Traumatic Brain Injury; if the memory does not come back on its own, it is gone forever. For more information on Traumatic Brain Injury click here to find Traumatic Brain Injury