Source amnesia
Encyclopedia
Source amnesia
is an explicit memory
disorder in which someone can recall certain information, but not where or how it was obtained.
(WCST) developed by Esta Berg in 1948, Positron Emission Tomography
(PET), and explicit and implicit memory tests, researchers have performed extensive empirical research on source-amnesiacs and concluded or suggested neuropsychological genesis.
Daniel Schacter
and Endel Tulving
have each proposed that memory for facts is differentiated from memory for context. The neuropsychological implications as in brain maturation, deterioration in the normal aging course, and damage are conveyed. The organic deterioration of the frontal lobes in the process of normal aging has a greater influence on episodic memory than perhaps premature lobes in young children. Source amnesia has the ability to alter one's confidence in their memory encoded in differing conditions (e.g., while conscious or in dreaming), as in memory distrust syndrome
, an inclusive disorder. Source amnesia was first presented and examined in the hypnotic
environment, and further understanding the human memory process
is essential in unraveling this condition.
in brain disease. Such confusion was termed memory distrust syndrome by Gudjonsson
and MacKeith. A condition similar to source amnesia sometimes occurs in dream
s, when the dreamer has some knowledge about details of the imaginary environment but has no idea how they learned this information.
Source amnesia has been theorized to partially account (in some cases alongside confirmation bias
) for particularly persistent, common misconceptions. Unable to place a known "fact" into the context of an unreliable source, some individuals may subconsciously re-assign the information an ambiguous or more trustworthy origin.
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
is an explicit memory
Explicit memory
Explicit memory is the conscious, intentional recollection of previous experiences and information. People use explicit memory throughout the day, such as remembering the time of an appointment or recollecting an event from years ago....
disorder in which someone can recall certain information, but not where or how it was obtained.
Process and experimentation
The disorder is particularly episodic, where source or contextual information surrounding facts are severely distorted or unable to be recalled. Via the use of the Wisconsin Card Sorting TaskWisconsin card sort
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test is a neuropsychological test of "set-shifting", i.e. the ability to display flexibility in the face of changing schedules of reinforcement. The WCST was written by David A. Grant and Esta A. Berg. The Professional Manual for the WCST was written by Robert K. Heaton,...
(WCST) developed by Esta Berg in 1948, Positron Emission Tomography
Positron emission tomography
Positron emission tomography is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide , which is introduced into the body on a...
(PET), and explicit and implicit memory tests, researchers have performed extensive empirical research on source-amnesiacs and concluded or suggested neuropsychological genesis.
Daniel Schacter
Daniel Schacter
Daniel Lawrence Schacter is an American psychologist. He is a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. His research has focused on psychological and biological aspects of human memory and amnesia, with a particular emphasis on the distinction between conscious and nonconscious forms of...
and Endel Tulving
Endel Tulving
Endel Tulving is an experimental psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist whose research on human memory has influenced generations of psychological scientists, neuroscientists, and clinicians...
have each proposed that memory for facts is differentiated from memory for context. The neuropsychological implications as in brain maturation, deterioration in the normal aging course, and damage are conveyed. The organic deterioration of the frontal lobes in the process of normal aging has a greater influence on episodic memory than perhaps premature lobes in young children. Source amnesia has the ability to alter one's confidence in their memory encoded in differing conditions (e.g., while conscious or in dreaming), as in memory distrust syndrome
Memory distrust syndrome
Memory distrust syndrome is a term coined by Gísli Guðjónsson and James MacKeith in 1982, to describe those who distrust their own memories and are motivated to rely on external sources to verify the accuracy of memories....
, an inclusive disorder. Source amnesia was first presented and examined in the hypnotic
Hypnotic
Hypnotic drugs are a class of psychoactives whose primary function is to induce sleep and to be used in the treatment of insomnia and in surgical anesthesia...
environment, and further understanding the human memory process
Human memory process
Numerous theoretical accounts of memory have differentiated memory for facts and memory for context. Psychologist Endel Tulving further defined these two declarative memory conceptions of explicit memory into semantic memory wherein general world knowledge not tied to specific events is stored...
is essential in unraveling this condition.
Phenomena
As source amnesia prohibits recollection of the context specific information surrounding facts in experienced events, there is also the inclusive case of confusion concerning the content or context of events, a highly attributable factor to confabulationConfabulation
Confabulation is the process in which a memory is remembered falsely. Confabulations are indicative of a complicated and intricate process that can be led astray at any given point during encoding, storage, or recall of a memory. Two distinct types of confabulation are often distinguished...
in brain disease. Such confusion was termed memory distrust syndrome by Gudjonsson
Gisli Gudjonsson
Gísli Hannes Guðjónsson, CBE is a Professor of Forensic Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry of King's College London. He is an internationally renowned authority on suggestibility and false confessions whose expert testimony was the basis for the convictions of the Birmingham Six and...
and MacKeith. A condition similar to source amnesia sometimes occurs in dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
s, when the dreamer has some knowledge about details of the imaginary environment but has no idea how they learned this information.
Source amnesia has been theorized to partially account (in some cases alongside confirmation bias
Confirmation bias
Confirmation bias is a tendency for people to favor information that confirms their preconceptions or hypotheses regardless of whether the information is true.David Perkins, a geneticist, coined the term "myside bias" referring to a preference for "my" side of an issue...
) for particularly persistent, common misconceptions. Unable to place a known "fact" into the context of an unreliable source, some individuals may subconsciously re-assign the information an ambiguous or more trustworthy origin.