- Quantitative disorders:
- Hypermnesias.
- Of psychic origin.
- Of evocation.
- Conservation
- Of psychic origin.
- Of organic origin.
- Delusions
- In epilepsy
- toxic
- Hypomnesias.
- Amnesia.
- Anterograde.
- Retrograde.
- Of evocation.
- Amnesia.
- Alomnesias.
- Psychotic.
- Psychogenic.
- Qualitative disorders
1. Quantitative disorders
Advances in cognitive psychology and neuroscience have provided a wealth of knowledge about the processes involved in memory. These advances have led to a profound shift in the pathophysiological understanding of memory disorders, even while retaining the same names.
This entry retains the same classic nomenclature and definition, for purely didactic purposes. We follow the scheme outlined below. Fernando Sarráis in his book on psychopathology, although introducing small clarifications in the definition of each of them and extracted from other psychopathology manuals.
Hypermnesia
They consist of an increase in the ability to remember. Some authors subdivide them into psychic and organic.
1. The psychics, which can be in turn of evocation: They have a great ability to recall distant memories and often appear in situations of great emotional impact. E.g., post-traumatic shock. Conservation: A special capacity to store large amounts of data. It is usually found in normal individuals – mnemonists – or in some pathologies – Asperger's syndrome, some cognitive delays… – Two very interesting mnemonic situations fall into this category: The cryptemnesias and ecmnesias.
At cryptemnesia The subject recalls childhood episodes in great detail and experiences them as if they were happening now. In the ecmnesiaNot only do they remember and experience these events as if they were happening now, but their behavior also unfolds as if they were current. This latter case is often found in patients with dementia, and some authors consider it a true form of dementia. Hallucinatory hypermnesia (Pitres).
2. Organic ones
They can be presented in the feverish delusionsespecially in children. Very detailed memories are evoked. Similarly, the epilepsy where excessively vivid memories have been described and linked to the neural mechanisms of memory. Finally, they have been described in toxic states related to amphetamines and psychostimulants in general.
Hypomnesia
These are memory impairments that can affect both the evocation, as to the processes of fixation.
When the alteration occurs in a general way, we call them amnesia and when they are selective or partial they are called Alomnesias.
- AmnesiaIt is the inability to remember. If the difficulty or inability to remember predates a specific event, it is called retrograde and if it is later, anterogradeIn a more circumscribed way, both in content and duration, the following is described: recall amnesia.
- Retrograde amnesiaIt is the inability to recall facts or events prior to a specific occurrence. It can be of organic cause (dementia, trauma, poisoning, epilepsy…), and of psychic origin (rapes, death of a family member, events of great emotional impact...).
- Anterograde amnesiaThis refers to the subject's inability to recall facts or information in general from a specific event onward. It can be of organic cause (poisoning, epilepsy, dementia, trauma, sleepwalking…), and of psychological cause (dissociative or hysterical disorder, physical or sexual abuse, intense traumatic shock…).
- Amnesia of recallAlthough it is difficult to remember, one is aware that the desired information is stored in memory. It may be lacunar: one is unable to remember a short period of time and may present in situations of dissociative crises, epilepsy, personality disorders… or dysmnesiaHe is unable to recall a word or name, even knowing it is stored in his memory. When it is spoken to him, he recognizes it. For this reason, some authors refer to it as amnesic aphasia.
- AlomnesiasThis is a partial hypomnesia that usually occurs in individuals experiencing situations that prevent them from focusing their attention and, therefore, from recording their experiences. Depending on whether they occur during delusional/hallucinatory activities or intense emotional situations, they are often called psychotic amnesia o emotional, respectively.
P.S. Next: Psychopathology of memory. Qualitative disorders.(II/II)
The following was used for the chapters on memory:
– Fernando Sarráis. Psychopathology. 2016. EUNSA Publishing House. Pamplona. pp: 119-140.
