Amnesia and Memory Storage Mechanisms

Anterograde Amnesia:
- Inability to store new memories following a brain injury.
- Cannot recall memories from events post-injury.
Retrograde Amnesia:
- Inability to recall memories from events that occurred before the injury (e.g., childhood).
- May retain very old memories despite loss of recent ones.

Without the hippocampus:
- Inability to store new event memories after the surgery.
- Difficulty recalling memories from weeks or months prior to the surgery.
- Retention of very old memories (e.g., childhood experiences).

Hippocampus:
- Key brain structure involved in the storage of memories.
- Play a crucial role in forming new memories and retrieving old ones.

Components Involved:
- Neurons in the Cortex: Responsible for processing sensory inputs and experiences.
- As an example, consider:
- Things you see (visual stimuli).
- Things you feel (tactile sensations).
- Body movements (motor functions).
- Thoughts and sounds (auditory stimuli).

There are potentially thousands or millions of neurons involved in memory storage, though not all can be represented visually at once.
Current Scenario (e.g., in a lecture):
- The neurons that are actively transmitting signals correspond to immediate stimuli:
- The screen in front of you.
- Your thoughts and the movement of your fingers.
- The instructor’s voice (e.g., me).

Active Neuronal Connections:
- Depend on Cerebral Cortex activity, which connects to the hippocampus.
- During an event, neurons associated with seeing, hearing, and other sensations are activated and send signals to the hippocampus.
Memory Experience includes multiple senses:
- Visually observing the screen and the instructor.
- Physically interacting with the keyboard or taking notes.
- Cognitively processing these inputs into a cohesive memory.