I Forget: Let's Talk About Amnesia

My mother, tho healthy, is in the hospital at the moment, and is being given the diagnosis of Transient Global Amnesia. Not really too alarming in the long-term, but I just talked with her, and she can't remember booking a flight out to the west coast for my thesis reading, or other sorts of details like that. So strange, especially since we've been talking about poetry, fugue states, and memory loss as of recent in one of my seminars....

this, btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transient_global_amnesia

It is very odd to think that something so globally disruptive could be relatively transient with a good prognosis. My first impulse (born out of pure ignorance) would be to think in terms of a tumor or vascular trauma, but apparently TGA can just happen and then go away. Weird stuff.

Meantime, I hope your mom improves rapidly.

Yeah all the best to yr mom table.

the idea that it can be brought about by "vigorous exercise (including sexual intercourse)" is quite something

The Wikipedia article is excellent: TGA is effectively completely benign. The memory impairment usually resolves gradually within 24 hours. They may keep her overnight for observation, but there's no real need to as long as she can go home with family.

TGA is "global" only in the sense of "global amnesia". Memory encoding and retrieval follows a specific pathway in the brain. Other brain functions are normal during an attack of TGA.

The pathophysiology of TGA is unknown. A few small studies have noted MRI changes or other radiographic markers in a subset of patients with TGA. But that's a long way from being an adequate explanation of what's going on, let alone what triggers the syndrome. There is a tendency for TGA to onset following stress/activity, but we're not sure why.

The emedicine article on TGA is worthwhile, if you're interested: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1160964-overview

Too bad it can't be induced; so many opportunities for fun and profit!