Do people with amnesia forget everything?

When you think of amnesia, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? 

Most of you might have answered—loss of memories from before the onset of amnesia. However, this isn’t entirely true. And you are not to blame. Over-the-top portrayals in movies and media have fueled the popular belief that most people with amnesia forget all details of their earlier lives.

In reality, most individuals with memory impairments retain at least some aspects of their autobiographical memory, i.e., memories of the past involving self. 

Before proceeding, it is important to understand the two major types of amnesia.

• Retrograde amnesia: the loss of memories formed before the onset of amnesia.

• Anterograde amnesia: the inability to form new memories after the onset of amnesia.

Disproving the myth 

Contrary to the popular belief that people forget everything from their past, research shows that many retain significant memories—especially older, emotionally meaningful ones.

This popular myth has been debated since earlier times, dating back to 1881, when Théodule Ribot gave the term Ribot’s Law, which talks about the time gradient in retrograde amnesia. It reveals that amnesic patients usually retain remote memories (from their distant past), better than recent events. (Ribot, 1881/1882)

Contemporary studies, such as “The life stories of adults with amnesia” by Grilli et al. (2018) shows that amnesic patients, especially those with late-onset amnesia, can still retain a considerable amount of their autobiographical memory, including details of their early lives. 

The findings of this study focus on the role of the medial temporal lobes (MTL) in the organization of autobiographical memory. Amnesia, especially damage to the MTL, impairs the ability to form new memories and disrupts the organization of past memories. The researchers used a novel scoring protocol to extract life chapters i.e. different periods and major events that form a person’s life narrative. The study found that:

• People with amnesia, particularly the later-onset amnesic participants were able to recall more autobiographical details formed before the onset of amnesia than the early-onset participants. 
• However, even among the early-onset participants, some memories remained accessible. The timing of the onset of amnesia plays a key role in determining which memory is retained. 

Inability to form new memories and lack of episodic richness in anterograde life chapters did not stop participants from reflecting on the emotional significance of the past memories. They still had an understanding of who they are and what their past means to them even without being able to recall every event.

Another study that disproves this myth is “Autobiographical memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease: The role of the reminiscence bump” by Bernsten et. al (2022). This study focuses on the reminiscence bump that is the tendency for individuals to have a clear memory of life events from adolescence to adulthood.

The results showed that people with amnesia in Alzheimer’s tend to retain more memories from the 10-30 age period which aligned with the reminiscence bump. This shows that not all autobiographical memories are lost, people continue to remember certain events, especially emotional or major ones, despite having amnesia. (Berntsen, et. al., 2022)

So, do people with amnesia forget everything?

No. Not at all. While amnesia can severely impair memory, the idea that it entirely erases every person’s past is simply a myth. It also demonstrates that even with serious memory problems, people hold onto some meaningful memories of their past that contributes into shaping their identity.