Brain Trauma

Memory Loss Due to Brain Trauma Numerous psychological studies have been done over the subject of the effects of accidental head trauma leading to various memory problems such as memory loss. These studies ranging from the very mild to the extremely severe brain traumas cases and has various effects on memory whether it is short term of long term memory problems and loss. This paper is going to more specifically cover vehicular accidents that involved head trauma leading to memory loss and other various memory problems. Memory loss can very well vary extremely from individual to individual due to the fact that traumas can affect different areas of the brain and to different intensities. Short term memory loss for one individual can be defined
This was very closely related to the situation that Drew Barrymore’s character Lucy went through in the motion picture 50 First Dates. This quote from the article shares the similar effects that Lucy possesses in the film after her car accident. “During her stay in the emergency room, E.R. (the effected patient) was not able to recognize the neurologist who was monitoring her every 30 minutes, although she immediately recognized her sister and could remember her outfit the following morning.”(Venneri, Brazzelli, & Della Sala, 1998, p. 606). While Lucy’s character in the movie could remember events that had occurred throughout the course of the same day, she forgot all of it every night once she had fallen asleep. She could remember all her memories prior to the accident, but had no recollection of the accident itself and had no idea of her memory problem. Like Lucy’s character the patient from the article “had preserved personal identity with a good recollection of past autobiographical events.” (Venneri, Brazzelli, & Della Sala, 1998, p. 606). This article also states that many long lasting memory disorders are frequently found in patients with head injuries. Human memory is dependent upon numerous amounts
Lucy’s long term memory in the film was still fully intact so she could easily remember memories that she often brought to mind such as family members and friends birthdays. Other long term memories that we store are motor skills and behaviors. “Just as researchers do not fully understand how information is organized when stored in long-term memory, they do not know for sure how retrieval is carried out” (Comer& Gould, 2011, p.253). Lucy suffered from what the textbook describes as anterograde amnesia. Comer and Gould (2011) define anterograde amnesia as an ongoing inability to form new memories after the onset of the disorder or event. The text gives an example of a middle aged patient who had suffered from some form of physical brain trauma more than two decades prior may still wake up every morning believing that Ronald Reagan is still President of the United States. Which directly correspond to Lucy’s character in the movie waking up every day going through her exact same routine and thinking it is her father’s birthday every day since she in enable to recall anything before. So Lucy’s father and her brother and the entire local town’s people go along with the same routine every day to make Lucy’s days go by smoothly. Every evening Lucy bakes a cake and her brother and father celebrate his birthday. The local restaurant employees give Lucy the same local newspaper with