Anterograde amnesia

Anterograde amnesia is impaired formation of new memories after a neurological event or drug exposure, while memories from before the cause may remain accessible.

Hippocampus: A medial temporal lobe structure involved in forming and organizing new declarative memories. Damage here can prevent new experiences from becoming durable memories.
Henry Molaison: An American patient whose medial temporal lobe surgery in 1953 caused severe difficulty forming new declarative memories. His case established that memory formation depends on medial temporal structures.
Medial temporal lobe: A brain region containing structures central to memory, including the hippocampus and adjacent cortices. Injury to this region is a well-established cause of lasting anterograde amnesia.
Retrograde amnesia: Loss or impairment of memories formed before a brain injury or other causal event. It affects memories from before the cause, unlike the defining temporal pattern here.
Neuropsychological assessment: The systematic measurement of cognitive abilities using standardized tests and clinical interpretation. Testing separates impaired new learning from attention, language, and retrieval difficulties.
Memory consolidation: The process by which newly formed memories become more stable over time. Anterograde amnesia can disrupt the stabilization of memories after initial learning.
Clive Wearing: A British musician with profound, persistent amnesia following viral encephalitis. His case illustrates severe impairment in forming ongoing autobiographical memories.
Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury: Brain damage caused by inadequate oxygen or blood flow to neural tissue. The hippocampus is vulnerable to oxygen deprivation, which can impair new learning.
Dissociative amnesia: Inability to recall important autobiographical information, usually associated with trauma or stress. It typically concerns retrieval of personal past events rather than new learning after injury.
Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test: A neuropsychological test that measures verbal learning and recall across repeated trials and delays. Its learning curve and delayed recall can quantify difficulties forming new memories.

Linked from 11 pages