The following symptoms and complaints may indicate amnesia:
- Antegrade amnesia – memory lapse that affects a specific time after the triggering event.
- Dissociative/psychogenic amnesia – form of amnesia that is limited to specific events only.
- Congrade amnesia – memory gap for a specific event.
- Lacunar amnesia – lack of memory for a specific event.
- Retrograde amnesia – memory lapse affecting a specific time before a triggering event.
- Transient global amnesia (TGA; anamnestic episode) – transient anterograde (new information can be retained for only 30-180 seconds) and retrograde (access to old memory acquired before TGA is impaired) amnesia, along with disorientation or confusion
- Duration: 24 hours max, 6 to 8 hours on average.
- Occurs clustered in the morning prelude go to sleep
- Cause so far not clarified
- Transitory amnesia – temporary memory impairment.
Associated symptoms during transient global amnesia (TGA).
- Patient appears troubled and repeatedly asks the same questions about situational circumstances.
Note: In TGA, neither focal neurologic symptoms nor additional cognitive deficits are present.
Warning signs (red flags)
- Anamnestic information:
- Evidence of rapid-onset dementia.
- Notice. Dementia patients are brought to the doctor by relatives.
- Indications of depression
- Notice. Depressed patients seek the doctor due tomemory problems.
- Severe headaches
- Convulsions (convulsions) or epileptic seizures.
- Trauma (here: traumatic brain injury).
- Evidence of rapid-onset dementia.