How Hollywood Forgets the Real Facts About Memory Loss While the most intense amnesia syndromes are normally triggered by neurosurgery, brain infection, or a stroke (Baxendale, 2004), amnesia caused by traumatic brain injuries and psychological stress seem to occur more often in Hollywood cinema. Through the protagonists of The Bourne Series and Anastasia, Hollywood follows the aftermath of traumatic incidences which cause both individuals to develop retrograde amnesia and lose their identity. Both characters have difficulty remembering their lives before the incidents, and both stories depict the struggles of one with amnesia. While the directors correctly display how amnesia may occur, and some correct information on procedural and
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Most individuals with retrograde amnesia are still capable of doing previously learned skills (like playing the piano, writing, singing, and, in Bourne’s case, martial arts, speaking many languages, and noticing every detail in the room). Although he lacked his declarative memory, his procedural memories help keep him alive and his skills allow him to find details about his identity. Kopelman and Morton (2015) completed a case study on an accomplished actor who suffered severe amnesia after a cardia arrest and hypoxic brain damage. When the researchers presented the actor with new lines to memorize, he showed severe impairment during the first learning trial. Nevertheless, he showed normal improvement and was very similar to actors in the control group in subsequent trials. Interestingly enough, although the actor did not recognize any passages from plays he had previously performed (because of his lack of episodic memories), he did show significant improvement in quickly re-memorizing the lines. Kopelman and Morton’s research (2015) support that, like the actor’s previous memorizing and acting skills remained intact, Bourne’s previous CIA skills were still
Most individuals with retrograde amnesia are still capable of doing previously learned skills (like playing the piano, writing, singing, and, in Bourne’s case, martial arts, speaking many languages, and noticing every detail in the room). Although he lacked his declarative memory, his procedural memories help keep him alive and his skills allow him to find details about his identity. Kopelman and Morton (2015) completed a case study on an accomplished actor who suffered severe amnesia after a cardia arrest and hypoxic brain damage. When the researchers presented the actor with new lines to memorize, he showed severe impairment during the first learning trial. Nevertheless, he showed normal improvement and was very similar to actors in the control group in subsequent trials. Interestingly enough, although the actor did not recognize any passages from plays he had previously performed (because of his lack of episodic memories), he did show significant improvement in quickly re-memorizing the lines. Kopelman and Morton’s research (2015) support that, like the actor’s previous memorizing and acting skills remained intact, Bourne’s previous CIA skills were still