A question about amnesia?

I was planning abook about a girl who gets amnesia after a traumatic event and forgets her name, where she is and what the event in question was. The thing is I was looking up on Amazon and found a book called "The Lost Mind" by Christopher Pike and one person criticised it saying that the main character didnt remember who she was or what happened and yet remembered how to drive. Is this possible- to forget who you are and still remember other things like the internet or how to do certain things.



Thanks



Helen

xxxxxxA question about amnesia?
Think of the brain as a PC.



The operating system (Windows, or whatever) is the equivalent of knowing how to drive, or talk.



The hard drive is your bank of data, such as your name.



One can be damaged, and the other can be ok.
I've always been told that amnesia effects things like personal memories, but not records of how to do things.



For example, you don't remember your family, but you remember how to perform algebra.



People with amnesia do not turn into babbling incoherent babies, so they must remember most everything in their educational sense, such as linguistics, mathematics, motor skills, etc.



That guy on Amazon hasn't done his research.A question about amnesia?
you know i swear i clicked this link for a reason . . cant quite remember why though
sure of course, because that is probably in her long term memory not her short term memory she will remember things from years ago but will not know who she is, her family, her age, things that happened yesterday, sounds like the girl could have Dissociative amnesia is not the same as simple amnesia, which involves a loss of information from the memory, usually as the result of disease or injury to the brain. With dissociative amnesia, the memories still exist but are deeply buried within the person鈥檚 mind and cannot be recalled. However, the memories might resurface on their own or after being triggered by something in the person鈥檚 surroundings.Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information. With this disorder, the degree of memory loss goes beyond normal forgetfulness and includes gaps in memory for long periods of time or of memories involving the traumatic eventA question about amnesia?
Some things can be remembered by instinct. For example a tennis player with amnesia may not remember they are a tennis player but picking up a racquet they would still be able to play. Amnesia is in the mind but not the body.
i forgot what you said
it is possible to remember some things ie: driving walking. it all depends what part of the brain is effected
hi, i just took a psych class on this topic. you have a couple of different options for your character. LEARNING to drive is still possible in all three.



retrograde amnesia: forgetting your past, but still able to create and remember new events. typically caused by a brain injury. there are famous cases of this. can re-learn to drive.



anterograde amnesia: remember past in detail, but can't store new memories. again, a brain injury is to blame. see the movie: memento for an example of this. remembers how to drive.



fugues: forgetting who you are, where you're from, still retain skills. cause is unknown and there are current documented cases of this. still has the skill.



i think this will be a difficult topic to describe accurately and consistently throughout a book without intimate knowledge of which ever one you choose. maybe study up on it, and write a book on a topic that you know better. it will probably be more realistic and better described.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anterograde鈥?/a>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrograde_鈥?/a>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue
I belive so. Having amnesia doesn't necessarily mean your memory is completely erased of everything. I believe it can be selective.
Varying degrees of amnesia derive of variant stimulus, presumably injury/loss. Certain skills endure intrinsic of one's person, incl. learned skills. That a woman remembered how to drive, yet perceives self as a different individual now, not necessarily impossible depending upon her self-perception of age, aggregate intellect or related constituent. Psychogenic fugue for one thing could denote momentary loss of true identity, else of true person/character, else of a more prolongued loss.



Notion that answer must always conform to some specific rule, esp. when dealing with the human mind, worse than inprudent. Ultimately a number of core fundamental rules may apply, but these kinds of generalized questions could never be answered with the precision that related student seeks. Concisely, thorough studies would reveal much greater insight.