What Is Retrograde Amnesia That Bougainvillea's Jyothirmayi Has?
Amal Neerad’s directorial Bougainvillea finally hit theaters today. Jyothirmayi’s character, Reethu, in the film suffers from a condition called retrograde amnesia. According to the National Institutes of Health, this condition involves the loss of memory for information acquired prior to the onset of amnesia.
A person develops retrograde amnesia after a traumatic brain injury and may not be able to remember what had happened in the years, or even decades, prior to that injury.
Read also: Amidst Predictability Issues, Internet Calls Bougainvillea, “A Clean Psychological Thriller”
The condition is caused by damage to the memory-storage areas of the brain, in various brain regions. This results from a traumatic injury, a serious illness, a seizure or stroke, or a degenerative brain disease. And it can be temporary, permanent, or progressive. The severity and the extend of this condition can be determined by the locus and extend of damage.
There are two types of Retrograde amnesia
Temporally graded retrograde amnesia
This amnesia is usually temporarily graded, which means that your most recent memories are affected first while the oldest memories usually are spared. The persons suffering from this condition may or may not be able to make new memories and learn new skills.
Focal Retrograde amnesia
This condition which is also referred as isolated or pure retrograde amnesia is when one only experiences retrograde amnesia with few or no symptoms of anterograde amnesia. This means that the ability to form new memories is left intact.
Read also: Is Bougainvillea Based On Lajo Jose’s Ruthinte Lokam?
Dissociative amnesia
This is a rare type of retrograde amnesia. It generally occurs due to an emotional shock. It’s not caused by damage to the brain, like other types of retrograde amnesia. Unlike rest, it’s purely a psychological response to trauma. It often occurs caused by a violent crime or other violent trauma and is usually temporary.
Memory is at that point supported by neocortex. The areas of neocortex important for long-term memory are thought to be the same regions that were initially involved in the processing and analysis of what was to be learned.
