Unit 4. Psychopathology of Memory

Encoding

The process of gathering and interpreting information based on prior knowledge and context.

Storage

Maintaining encoded information for varying durations.

Retrieval

Accessing stored information when required.

Duration of Memory

Refers to the length of time information can be held in memory, ranging from milliseconds in short-term memory to a lifetime in long-term memory.

Capacity of Memory

Describes how much information can be stored, from limited chunks in working memory to vast networks of detailed information.

Amnesia

Severe loss of memory.

Hyperamnesia

Excessive memory recall, which can be permanent or transitory.

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

A common experience of being unable to retrieve a word or name temporarily.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to retain new information after an injury or event.

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to recall memories formed before the onset of amnesia.

Dissociative Amnesia

Memory loss specific to personal information or events, often triggered by psychological trauma.

Screen Memory

Partial recollection of a traumatic event, often masking deeper trauma.

Confabulation

Filling memory gaps with fabricated information, often without the patient’s awareness.

Deja Vu

A false sense of familiarity with a new situation.

Jamais Vu

Lack of recognition for previously familiar places or people.

Dissociative Fugue

A subtype of dissociative amnesia where individuals wander with no memory of why they are there, potentially creating new identities.

State-Dependent Memory

Memory recall influenced by the emotional or physiological state during encoding.

Transient Global Amnesia

Sudden, temporary memory loss that typically resolves in 24 hours.

Quantitative Memory Disorders

These disorders involve changes in the capacity to store or recall information.

Qualitative Memory Disorders (Paramnesias)

Disorders that distort memory accuracy, creating false or altered recollections.

Dissociative Amnesia

A condition involving memory loss that is triggered by psychological stress, often relating to traumatic experiences.

Anterograde Amnesia

A type of amnesia where individuals cannot form new memories after a specific incident.

Retrograde Amnesia

Amnesia that affects the ability to recall memories from before the onset of the disorder.

Transient Global Amnesia

Acute, temporary disruption of memory characterized by an inability to form new memories, lasting typically less than 24 hours.

Dissociative Fugue

A dissociative disorder where a person forgets their identity and past, sometimes traveling to new locations.

Deja Vu

A feeling of familiarity with a situation that is actually new and has not been previously experienced.

Jamais Vu

The sensation that an unfamiliar situation is somehow familiar, leading to feelings of estrangement.

Confabulation

Memory error where gaps in memory are unintentionally filled with fabricated or distorted information.

Screen Memory

A memory that serves as a cover for a real, often traumatic memory, recalling only a small, less significant event.

Paramnesias

Memory distortions that lead to incorrect recollections of events or details.