PTSD memory loss can add to the stress someone experiences and may intensify certain symptoms even more. In addition to memory loss, people with PTSD may experience angry outbursts, irrational behavior, detachment from friends and family and feelings of guilt or shame, among other symptoms. There are three different kinds of PTSD: acute (symptoms end in three months or less), chronic (symptoms continue for more than three months) and delayed-onset (where symptoms don’t present themselves until well after the traumatic event has occurred). This psychiatric condition has long been associated with war-related experiences, but it can also be triggered by various events including accidents, attacks and natural disasters. Trauma-based memory loss, therefore, can easily occur when the trauma creates stress that negatively affects the brain.Ī traumatic event can be so intense that it can spark posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The amygdala is also believed to help with the formation of long-term memory. And the amygdala processes fear-based memories if you ever burned your hand on a stove once, you remember not to touch the hot surface again because the memory is processed and stored by the amygdala. The hippocampus also gives us a way to learn by comparing past memories with present experiences. The left hippocampus focuses on memorizing facts and recognition, while the right hippocampus is associated with spatial memory. The hippocampus is also a major memory center in the brain. The prefrontal cortex helps process working memory, the information that we need to remember on an everyday basis. Not coincidentally, these are areas of the brain that are strongly associated with memory function. In fact, those areas of the brain can change in shape and volume, and experience diminished function. That stress response can have an i mpact on different areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex. How Trauma Affects the BrainĪ traumatic incident can cause a great deal of stress in both the short term and the long term.
Knowing how trauma can affect your memory can guide you in choosing an appropriate treatment to help you cope with trauma and heal your memory problems. Some of this memory loss may be a temporary way to help you cope with the trauma, and some of it may be permanent due to a severe brain injury or disturbing psychological trauma.
Research shows that there is a definite relationship between occurrences of emotional, psychological or physical trauma and memory. Memory loss is a frustrating and sometimes scary experience, especially if the memory loss is caused by a traumatic event.
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