Memory Interference and Amnesia Types: Definitions and Differences

Retroactive interference

A psychological phenomenon where newly learned information impairs the ability to retrieve older, previously learned memories

Anterograde amnesia

Stops a person from creating new long-term memories after a brain injury or event.

Retroactive amnesia

The inability to recall or retrieve memories and information that were acquired before a specific point in time

Proactive interference

Old information gets in the way of learning or recalling new information