It’s called “transient global amnesia”: it is a temporary but impressive disorder that resolves spontaneously. What are the triggers (including intense sport, pain, emotions and altitude)
It is an impressive phenomenon: at a certain point, suddenly, a person appears completely disoriented even temporarily, it seems not fix anything in memory and may show some difficulty in retrieving previous memories. She repeats the same questions over and over, evidently unable to remember the answers she has already been given. Those who witness the phenomenon are incredulous, also because thetransient global amnesia – this is the name of the disorder – can strike without any warning, while all other psychic functions are intact.
Discovered the headquarters
Research that for the first time used very high field Magnetic Resonance, seven Tesla, shows how the phenomenon is due to transient alterations detectable in the hippocampus, a small, fundamental structure of the brain, connected to memory functions. In particular the accidentals are concentrated in a small portion, the so-called Ammon’s Horn. The research was published in the journal Neuroradiology and was carried out by a Norwegian team led by Runa Geirmundsdatter Unsgård of Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim. Previous studies, carried out with less powerful Magnetic Resonances, had already detected the presence of these alterations, but in many cases they failed to highlight them, leaving the doubt as to what could be the causes of this disorder.
Who hits
Transient global amnesia usually strikes over fifty even in full health, although it is more common in people suffering from certain neurological conditions, such as migraine, epilepsy or cerebrovascular changes. Disorder can be of very short duration, on average it lasts from one to six hours, or even persist for 24 hours, while the studies carried out show that the alterations found on Magnetic Resonance can be detectable even up to 96 hours. Typically, both the awareness of one’s personal identity and other forms of memory remain intact, such as the procedural one, motor-type memory, which makes one “remember” such as, for example, tying shoes or riding a bicycle. In a certain number of cases it is possible to identify triggering events: situations strongly emotions, physical activity very intense, sexual intercourse, sharp painundergoing medical procedures, exposure to high altitudescontact with water too hot or too cold. Anyone who has already had an episode of transient global amnesia has a certain risk of seeing it reappear. Several studies estimate this risk at around ten percent. The possibility that the disorder occurs in more people has also been noted same family.
The after
Despite its spectacularity, transient global amnesia, as the name implies, disappears without leaving memory defects and does not require specific treatments. In any case, a specialist evaluation is always advisable for a differential diagnosis with other neurological disorders, and also to be able to reassure both those affected and their family members or those who have witnessed its appearance.
December 29, 2022 (change December 29, 2022 | 1:03 pm)
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