How Amnesia Affects Memory

Amnesia affects the memory. People diagnosed with amnesia lose memories that occur before the onset of amnesia. Amnesia affects the memory, how well you can store long term memory. If amnesia occurs, one might have trouble with long term memory in the future, or simply forget most of their past. Due to the brains plasticity, the brain can use association areas to help build memory. Amnesia commonly comes in two forms that occur together: Retrograde amnesia and Anterograde amnesia.

Retrograde amnesia differs from anterograde amnesia in one important way, where the memory trouble occurs. With retrograde amnesia one will suffer from loss of memory for all memories that take place before the onset of the disorder. Except for a few isolated memories, one cannot bring to mind any memories from before their amnesia occurred. Over time one could start recovering their memories and recover their past. Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to store memories into long term memory after the onset of amnesia. With anterograde amnesia one has trouble learning and remembering things after they have read them. All of one’s previous memories still exist however, and that individual has no problem remembering these events with anterograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia, you lose past memories, anterograde

amnesia, you can’t learn in the future.
Causes for amnesia are anything that can damage the brain.

Traumatic brain injuries, ingestion of toxic substances that alter the brain, emotional distress, and hypoxia/ anoxia serve as the most common causes for amnesia. Traumatic brain injuries occur because of damage to brain tissue, such as concussions, alteration, lesions, and destruction of tissue. Due to complex neural connections and pathways, the severing of any of them is irreplaceable. Toxic substances could include many drugs such as alcohol or other illegal concentrated substances. When the brain receives inadequate oxygen, it suffers hypoxia, and when the brain cannot receive any oxygen, it undergoes

anoxia.
People who suffer from amnesia cannot remember their past, except for a few isolated events, or struggle with the future, however some solutions exist. Often patients struggle to learn new things and often portray a child-like persona. In order to address this, patients often undergo cognitive therapy to help teach and understand the patient, as well as physical therapy to help improve impaired motor skills. Together these therapies can help assist retrograde and anterograde amnesia in re-teaching valuable skills such as walking, talking, and basic necessities. If amnesia was caused by emotional distress, then a doctor could recommend psychotherapy in order to iron out any issues emotionally and return the patient back to a stable mood.
In the movie Regarding Henry, Henry Turner lives a normal life as a lawyer, making exceptional money at the expense of his family and others. During the beginning of the movie, Henry notably hates parts of his house, disregards his daughter and his maid. One night he takes a stroll outside and goes off to buy a pack of cigarettes. On this fateful moment he confronts a thief with a low caliber handgun. The thief shoots him twice. Once in the right cerebral cortex, and once in the clavicle vein. He suffers traumatic brain injury and anoxia. Because of the extensive brain damage causes by these two injuries, Henry suffers from retrograde amnesia.
When Henry first awakens from his coma, he cannot understand the nurse, and shows no recognition at mention of the holiday Christmas, nor at his wife when brought up. When he receives a room at a well esteemed therapy center, he stares at the beauty of his natural surroundings with a childlike persona. Right off the bat, Henry exhibits the symptoms of retrograde amnesia, childlike persona and lack of recognition for previous events in his life.
When his wife enters Henry’s room, Henry has no understanding, and doesn’t show any sign of recognition for her face, or for any words she says. In order to address his memory, a therapist comes in, and treats Henry like a child due to his persona. He has to relearn basic shapes and colors with this therapist. She repeatedly asks him about different shapes and colors, and he answers correctly part of the time. However, he answers by pointing to his answer, instead of speaking because Henry cannot speak. At this point, we learn the extent of Henry’s amnesia. He responds well to teaching, so he does not suffer from anterograde amnesia because his ability to learn information, but his retrograde amnesia stretches to very early in his life. Basic speech, motor skills, and knowledge was lost due to his amnesia.
Eventually he meets Bradly, a physical therapist for him. Henry eventually learns how to talk and relearns how to walk again. He clings emotionally to Bradley because Bradley serves as his first new friend for the first new Henry. When Bradley asks him what he wants to eat, Henry manages to come up with a word, “Ritz”. Both Henry and Bradly grow jubilant for his first word during recovery. Through therapy, Henry shows progress at recovery. He learns how to walk, talks, and learns basic general knowledge. Viewers learn that he forgot everything because his retrograde amnesia he forgot everything from the past, with no indicator of any memories.
Henry clings to Ritz crackers like a child would a toy, and paints numerous replicas of Ritz boxes. Bradly informs Henry that Henry will depart shortly for his own home and family, but Henry resists. He states,” I do not know them,”. His family does not hold presence in his memory, however his daughter tells a tale of he taught her to tie shoes, and he changes his mind because he remembers ‘gray carpet’. Viewers experience more Henry’s childlike persona, and how he clings to Bradly as a source of comfort in distressing situations, and his attachment to sentimental inanimate objects. Notably, viewers also see evidence of one of Henry’s first isolated memories, the gray carpet.
Once Henry finally returns home, he notes the beauty of the house, and wanders his house with strange curiosity. He enjoys the view of his natural environment, once disregarded. During the first breakfast with his family, he states his distaste for eggs, one of his previous favorite foods, but thanks to Bradley’s conditioning, he has no taste for them. When his daughter makes a mistake and spills her drink, an action he used to punish harshly, he forgives her because he does it all the time now. Not only do these actions support the theory of nurture over nature, but Henry’s personality changed. Once he was strict and cruel to his family, but now he is easy going and enjoys his environment and every moment with his family.
During his first day back, Henry manages to leave his residence and explore the town. Without recognition, he spends money and buys foods. During a green light, he walks through traffic because he does not understand these concepts anymore. While out and about on his trip he sees a movie which pertains to sex, and he shows signs of surprise and innocent curiosity. Eventually out of the movie, he finds a small dog, and buys the creature off impulse, and returns home. Henry has the curiosity of a child, and doesn’t understand the concept of money. He does not have practical knowledge of his surroundings because all of his knowledge was lost to retrograde amnesia.
Through the dog and other activities, Henry bonds closely with his daughter, as opposed to his previous self in which he could not find time for his daughter. His daughter. Together they train their new dog, and Henry continues on life and bonds again with his wife, maid, and daughter. Reading, a skill lost to Henry because of amnesia, was taught to Henry by his daughter with simple books. Ecstatic, Henry runs around the house reading the labels on cleaning supplies and he celebrates with his family. These characteristics did not exist in Henry before, which shows how he clings to the people closest to him, similar to a child, and his capability to learn.
After a short time, Henry must return to work, and reads in depth about a previous case of his involving hospital malpractice in which he successfully defended the hospital against claims of malpractice from an incorrect diagnosis. He begins to feel empathy for the plaintiff, and questions his colleges thoroughly about the case. Because of his lack of memory, he does not understand the practical causes of his occupation as a lawyer. Despite still working for the firm, he hands out the information to the plaintiff and tell their lawyer to prepare and promptly quits his job. No longer does Henry serve to suit himself, but he fights for the ethical and morally correct solution. Henry’s personality changes considerably after his initial case of amnesia.
Once he receives a gift in the mail, he discovers an affair that his wife had with another man. Out of anger, he storms out and heads off to a hotel… the Ritz. Another isolated memory. After he find refuge in a room and stays in the place, he sits on the bed and reflects on life, until a woman interrupts him. The woman reveals that before Henry’s amnesia, she and Henry had an affair. After the encounter, Henry makes his way home, and reconciles with his wife. His isolated memories start to reveal themselves, and he learns some of his past.
Over time Henry’s personality changes, and he shows signs of child-like curiosity and tendencies. He connects with his family even stronger than before. Any previous affairs, he kills any previous affairs. Over time, more and more memories return to Henry, and he picks up skills faster. Retrograde amnesia causes someone to forget their past, and all previously known information. Henry did not suffer from anterograde amnesia so he could relearn all of his previous knowledge.
Henry exhibits many symptoms of retrograde amnesia including, but not limited to, child-like persona, changed personality, with no recollection of the past. The family rebuilds their bonds, and Henry appreciates things he never regarded on before his amnesia. Causation for his amnesia run parallel with typical causes for amnesia, brain trauma, and lack of nutrients to brain (oxygen and anoxia). Therapy assisted Henry in his recovery attempt and he made a full recovery, with many moral changes, and family changes. Regarding Henry portrays retrograde amnesia with Henry, as well the recovery and life of the patient.