Anterograde
“Memento” is a movie directed by Christopher Nolan (2000) which follows a man, Leonard, who apparently has anterograde amnesia. After receiving a severe blow to the head, Leonard ended up with a traumatic brain injury that apparently damaged his hippocampus. He is unable to form and retain new memories. Memories prior to the incident remain intact. In order to deal with his condition, Leonard tattoos important facts on his body that he doesn’t want to forget, takes pictures of new people, places and things then writes notes to remember what needs to be done. Like all patients with severe anterograde amnesia, Leonard is unable to convert things that happen into long term memory so he forgets everything with the passing of time or …show more content…
The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is responsible for storing new memories. A person with Anterograde Amnesia will find it impossible to retain new memories, but will be able to recall anything that happened in the past prior to the damage of their brain. They will have false recollections that are either made up of genuine memories or misplaced in time. They will have neurological problems such as uncoordinated movements, tremors or seizures. They will also seemed confused or disoriented. Even though they cannot retain new memories it does look as though if taught the same procedure over and over they will learn that and be able to recreate that procedure in the future. They can still perform tasks they knew prior to an accident such as making up injections, shaving, brushing teeth, driving a car etc. A person with Anterograde Amnesia can be taught a task and shown how to do it over and over, and while they will not remember having practiced it, they will be able to perform the task faster and easier. Most people with Anterograde Amnesia will need to keep a diary or a notepad to write down important information that they need to …show more content…
There are some issues with the inaccuracies of the Anterograde Amnesia condition as presented in “Memento.” The greatest one is that Leonard is totally aware he has memory loss, how he got it and what its symptoms are. In the videos of Clive Wearing conversing with his wife he loses track of the conversation 2-3 sentences in. He knows something is wrong but he’s in a fog and describes every moment as if he had just woke up or regained consciousness. He had no idea what was wrong with him. So how could Leonard wake up knowing what’s wrong and how it happened? Anterograde Amnesia patients would not remember receiving that diagnosis let alone be able to tell everyone they meet about the condition. Leonard repeatedly tells everyone that he does not have amnesia because he still knows who he is, however that would be an incorrect definition, as the word "amnesia" means loss of memory not loss of identity. Leonard also remembers new habits, every time he wakes up he tells himself to look around, what’s in the drawer, talks about the Gideon Bible… these are all new habits he didn’t possess prior to the incident. Leonard can locate his car wherever he is, drive to locations he’s never been to or shouldn’t remember without a GPS or map. Patients that suffer a traumatic brain injury will typically show signs of retrograde amnesia where they cannot recall events leading up to the injury, but Leonard can recall all the
“Memento” is a movie directed by Christopher Nolan (2000) which follows a man, Leonard, who apparently has anterograde amnesia. After receiving a severe blow to the head, Leonard ended up with a traumatic brain injury that apparently damaged his hippocampus. He is unable to form and retain new memories. Memories prior to the incident remain intact. In order to deal with his condition, Leonard tattoos important facts on his body that he doesn’t want to forget, takes pictures of new people, places and things then writes notes to remember what needs to be done. Like all patients with severe anterograde amnesia, Leonard is unable to convert things that happen into long term memory so he forgets everything with the passing of time or …show more content…
The hippocampus is the part of the brain that is responsible for storing new memories. A person with Anterograde Amnesia will find it impossible to retain new memories, but will be able to recall anything that happened in the past prior to the damage of their brain. They will have false recollections that are either made up of genuine memories or misplaced in time. They will have neurological problems such as uncoordinated movements, tremors or seizures. They will also seemed confused or disoriented. Even though they cannot retain new memories it does look as though if taught the same procedure over and over they will learn that and be able to recreate that procedure in the future. They can still perform tasks they knew prior to an accident such as making up injections, shaving, brushing teeth, driving a car etc. A person with Anterograde Amnesia can be taught a task and shown how to do it over and over, and while they will not remember having practiced it, they will be able to perform the task faster and easier. Most people with Anterograde Amnesia will need to keep a diary or a notepad to write down important information that they need to …show more content…
There are some issues with the inaccuracies of the Anterograde Amnesia condition as presented in “Memento.” The greatest one is that Leonard is totally aware he has memory loss, how he got it and what its symptoms are. In the videos of Clive Wearing conversing with his wife he loses track of the conversation 2-3 sentences in. He knows something is wrong but he’s in a fog and describes every moment as if he had just woke up or regained consciousness. He had no idea what was wrong with him. So how could Leonard wake up knowing what’s wrong and how it happened? Anterograde Amnesia patients would not remember receiving that diagnosis let alone be able to tell everyone they meet about the condition. Leonard repeatedly tells everyone that he does not have amnesia because he still knows who he is, however that would be an incorrect definition, as the word "amnesia" means loss of memory not loss of identity. Leonard also remembers new habits, every time he wakes up he tells himself to look around, what’s in the drawer, talks about the Gideon Bible… these are all new habits he didn’t possess prior to the incident. Leonard can locate his car wherever he is, drive to locations he’s never been to or shouldn’t remember without a GPS or map. Patients that suffer a traumatic brain injury will typically show signs of retrograde amnesia where they cannot recall events leading up to the injury, but Leonard can recall all the