“Stress, an extra-busy day, poor sleep and even some medications can interfere with making and recalling memories,” Yasar says. “And we all have moments when a name or the title of a movie is right on the tip of the tongue, but those events are different from the kinds of lapses that may be warning signs for dementia.”
Unless the old memory is recalled again, it might eventually fade. “You have seen many other movies since that [particular] movie. All of these other movies have the potential to interfere with your memory of that original event,” says Sean Kang, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Melbourne.
There's a thing known as the 'forgetting curve', which is as good an idea as scientists have of how memories of an event (or TV show) deteriorate over time if they aren't accessed - remembering a weekly show in the time between episodes can reinforce and consolidate those memories.
Dissociative amnesia is a condition in which you can't remember important information about your life. This forgetting may be limited to certain specific areas (thematic) or may include much of your life history and/or identity (general).
Long-term memory:
One study in the Journal of Attention Disorders found that adults with ADD/ADHD performed worse on long-term memory tests compared with those who don't have the condition. The researchers suggest that long-term memory impairment is related to problems encoding information.
Almost 40% of us will experience some form of memory loss after we turn 65 years old. But even if we experience memory loss, chances are still unlikely that we have dementia.
Stress, anxiety or depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating and other problems that disrupt daily activities. Alcoholism. Chronic alcoholism can seriously impair mental abilities. Alcohol can also cause memory loss by interacting with medications.
Not remembering trauma can be a coping mechanism, which is when the brain protects someone from experiencing the intense feelings associated with memory. So instead of a clear, detailed memory, someone may have gaps or only remember vague sensory aspects, like a color or smell.
Health care providers often use a brief test such as the Short Test of Mental Status, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). More detailed testing may help determine the degree memory is impaired.
Even if you forget the title of a movie, there are plenty of ways to find a movie title you can't remember. You can Google the plot details, any actors you remember, or even quotes from the film itself. If that doesn't work, then your best is to use a movie finder website or tool.
Forgetfulness can arise from stress, depression, lack of sleep or thyroid problems. Other causes include side effects from certain medicines, an unhealthy diet or not having enough fluids in your body (dehydration). Taking care of these underlying causes may help resolve your memory problems.
Memory and other thinking problems have many possible causes, including depression, an infection, or medication side effects. Sometimes, the problem can be treated, and cognition improves. Other times, the problem is a brain disorder, such as Alzheimer's disease, which cannot be reversed.
Amnesia not only frequently results in a loss of identity in the movies, it also commonly causes a complete personality change. This can just mean a character becomes more extroverted or introverted, but usually it involves a complete shift in values and behaviour.
Known as the 'mere exposure effect' by scientists, this explains that familiar things are easier to process and we have a tendency to develop preferences for things if we've already been exposed to them. This is also known as the familiarity principle.
Movies can allow the mind to imagine, and it is then up to us to differentiate what we imagine with what actually happened in the past, but sleeper effects can make us reimagine the past in ways that can have profound effects on our later memory, which can be modified each time we visit events from the past [6].
It is possible for people to have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) without memory of the trauma event, such as in drug-facilitated sexual assault. However, there is little evidence available on treatment provision for this population.
Yes, although PTSD can manifest as other mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression, sometimes it can be hidden in avoidance and numbness. It's easy to note a brave soldier coming from war with flashbacks of the combat experiences.
Unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, relationship problems and physical symptoms like headaches or nausea are some of the ways that unresolved trauma can manifest, according to the American Psychological Association.
Brain fog is characterized by confusion, forgetfulness, and a lack of focus and mental clarity. This can be caused by overworking, lack of sleep, stress, and spending too much time on the computer.
The Mini-Cog test.
A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.
Introduction: The five-word test (5WT) is a serial verbal memory test with semantic cuing. It is proposed to rapidly evaluate memory of aging people and has previously shown its sensitivity and its specificity in identifying patients with AD.
The main sign of mild cognitive impairment is a slight decline in mental abilities. Examples include: Memory loss: You may forget recent events or repeat the same questions and stories. You may occasionally forget the names of friends and family members or forget appointments or planned events.
For most people with Alzheimer's — those who have the late-onset variety — symptoms first appear in their mid-60s or later. When the disease develops before age 65, it's considered early-onset Alzheimer's, which can begin as early as a person's 30s, although this is rare.