After getting into an accident that involved a head injury, you may also deal with memory loss. The severity can vary greatly depending on the type of injury you faced.
But how did the brain injury lead to memory loss? And is there anything you can do to help rehabilitate your memory?
The cause of memory loss after brain damage
Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center examines memory and the brain. Different areas of the brain store and process memories in unique ways. For example, short term memory gets stored in the frontal lobe and lasts between 15 to 30 seconds. The medial temporal lobe processes this information into long term memories for storage.
Many crashes involve damage to the frontal lobe, which is why short term memory suffers especially in the immediate aftermath. You might remember bits and pieces of the incident, but not the entire thing. This is because your brain does not save the short term memory as the incident happens. Thus, there is nothing to recall later.
Common effects of memory damage
The area of the brain that processes short term memories also suffers damage in some cases. This makes it hard to hang on to short term memories and recall them later. Many victims of memory damage struggle with the daily effects of this, such as:
- Forgetting important dates or times
- Leaving items somewhere and forgetting where you left them
- Forgetting to do important daily tasks like laundry or grocery shopping
- Forgetting information someone just told you
Needless to say, this impairment can have a big impact on your life. Rehabilitation is possible but takes time, which is why many victims seek financial compensation to help the process along.
