tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post7005121857503235686..comments2024-03-10T04:29:20.044-04:00Comments on Mad Genius Club: Memory and the single writer-- guest post by Doctor Tedd RobertsSarah A. Hoythttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-6153109813592162372022-03-01T14:33:40.615-05:002022-03-01T14:33:40.615-05:00Find Best hashtags for Instagram. hashtagschecker....Find Best hashtags for Instagram. hashtagschecker.com is the best <a href="https://hashtagschecker.com" rel="nofollow">Hashtags Generator </a> Website.Minhaz Hosenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05054760212644143221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-34281630558717571412009-07-02T12:16:16.318-04:002009-07-02T12:16:16.318-04:00Well, aside from the fact that Agatha Christie'...Well, aside from the fact that Agatha Christie's amnesia was caused by Doctor Who... [grin!]<br /><br />What most of the recent posts have described are clear characteristics of concussion affecting the "consolidation" of memory. Head injury frequently results in a loss of memory for a few minutes, hours or a day before and after the event because swelling and pressure affect blood flow, and the memory processing and consolidating areas of the brain do not act efficiently. Thus memory is lost/never permanently stored.<br /><br />Fugue state is indeed very interesting, and Agatha Christie's situation was probably fugue of some sort. Some have been known to be triggered by psychological or physical stress (like the WW1 soldier). Others like Kate and Rowena describe may have some similarity to absence epilepsy where the "executive function" (frontal cortex) is electrically isolated from the rest of the brain. All of the motor programs that result in automatic behavior are present and operating, but the conscious awareness of the them is absent. Again - this can be attributed to lack of consolidation or even anterograde amnesia - after all - once a person "wakes up" from fugue, they really don't know if they were aware during the automatic behavior and perhaps just never stored the memory of those events!<br /><br />This entire discussion is actually very good because it shows that people are thinking of the various ways to incorporate variability in head injury and amnesia without resorting to cliche!Speaker to Lab Animalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10403328464472141601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-5228239703802005092009-07-02T10:09:35.879-04:002009-07-02T10:09:35.879-04:00When I fell in the bathroom and hit whatever it wa...When I fell in the bathroom and hit whatever it was I hit (frankly, probably the sink) and got concussion I truly woke up going "who am I?" though it was actually "what am I?" That lasted a few seconds. However to this day I have no idea where I was or what I was doing when I fell. I mean, where I was in the bathroom. Because the last I remember, it would be impossible to hit my head on the sink, or to end up on the floor folded the way I was, with my legs UP the wall. (This still puzzles me.) I estimate I lost a couple of minutes.<br /><br />The effects were the inability to put words together and apparently -- long term -- the ability to draw. (uh!) My doctor said that considering the concussion I got (My glass prescription went up one diopeter) was the equivalent of hitting the windshield in a crash at sixty miles per hour, there would be some new connections forming over the years and I might or might not notice the changes in how my brain works. Other than the art, the only thing I've noticed is a tendency to LESS depression. For two weeks or so, though it was very hard to write and if you own a hc of Draw One In the Dark, you'll notice the first three chapters mix four different English language dialects. I've used all of them at different times, but never scrambled them like that. OTOH I got fugues for about three months. I'd find myself out, in the car, and have no idea where I'd been or why. From what I can guess, nothing exciting. Mostly routine stuff. And Doc, what about Agatha Christie's disappearance/amnesia?Sarah A. Hoythttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17478124095732219352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-84980345645916705362009-07-02T05:49:42.539-04:002009-07-02T05:49:42.539-04:00The only time I've experienced major memory lo...The only time I've experienced major memory loss was when I was run over by a Mercedes Benz - or to be more accurate when a Merc tripped me over and I head butted the windscreen.<br /><br />1) I don't recall the impact or the previous c.5 minutes.<br />2) I don't recall the subsequent half hour.<br />3) I have intermittent recollection of the next few hours some of which may be false memories induced by being interviewed in the exact same police room a day or two later and having recordings of some of what I sad played back to me.<br /><br />Fictionally the description in Paksenarrion where she gets a concussion on the wall of a town and then isn't with it for a day or so absolutely rang true. <br /><br />The absentmindedness when you do smoething on autopilot like driving, locking the door etc. is different I think - and you really really need to read this (tragic) article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/27/AR2009022701549.htmlFrancis Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09239588633595604498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-37232714520305473432009-07-01T22:12:31.589-04:002009-07-01T22:12:31.589-04:00Kate said: I think it also covers some automatic b...Kate said: I think it also covers some automatic behavior, where you do something routine and have absolutely no memory of it<br /><br /><br />Kate, that kind of thing happens to me all the time. I thought it was because what was going on in my head was more interesting than real life. grin<br /><br />Not so funny when I got home and couldn't remember if I'd locked my shop and had to go back to check. I had. But still. Very odd.Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-27652230968286490402009-07-01T21:13:19.734-04:002009-07-01T21:13:19.734-04:00Matapam,
For some reason I managed to not see th...Matapam, <br /><br />For some reason I managed to not see the words "part of" and spent rather a long time wondering how the heck you could give a guy amnesia by hitting the wrong head.<br /><br />Mind you, that might be even funnier, plot-wise, if the aliens have an actual brain there. Er. Let's not go there...<br /><br />Fugue state is an interesting one. I think it also covers some automatic behavior, where you do something routine and have absolutely no memory of it - as I recall epilepsy can cause this. I know for a fact that narcolepsy does because I've done it. It's quite unnerving having those gaps in your memory - especially when your awareness kicks back in 15 miles down the highway, at peak hour, and the last thing you remember is walking out of your workplace.Kate Paulkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02034983693134240754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-43958928559659104712009-07-01T20:34:39.279-04:002009-07-01T20:34:39.279-04:00This latter example is actually yet a third type o...This latter example is actually yet a third type of amnesia. In between the short-term (10 minutes) and the long term (10 years) is an intermediate form that must be rewritten several times before it becomes a permanent memory. The technical term is consolidation, and for the most part it happens during sleep.<br /><br />Thank you all for the comments, and it does tie in to my theme which was to *vary* the type of amnesia and understand enough of the science to select the *right* consequence of injury.<br /><br />By the way, those long line breaks were *supposed* to be Ratley squeaking [squeak], but I used angle brackets and I guess the formatter decided they were really text! Ah, well.Speaker to Lab Animalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10403328464472141601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-74194468678274901172009-07-01T18:36:49.123-04:002009-07-01T18:36:49.123-04:00I thought of another example of anterograde amnesi...I thought of another example of anterograde amnesia in fiction, I think.<br /><br />Gene Wolfe's character Latro, from "The Soldier of the Mist" and the sequel, though for some reason I never got around to reading that. He wakes up each morning with no knowledge of the day before.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-34823188046364131462009-07-01T17:53:09.401-04:002009-07-01T17:53:09.401-04:00Doc Ted, I find the Fugue State really interesting...Doc Ted, I find the Fugue State really interesting. I read of a case about a soldier in WW1, where he had to deliver messages across battlefields on a bicycle (not sure why). Anyway, it constantly put him in danger. One day, he 'woke up' to find himself riding his bicycle at a seaside town in Britany with no idea how he got there.<br /><br />The theory was that his mind had said, OK, this is going to get you killed. Time to step in and save you from yourself.<br /><br />He wasn't a deserter, not that they understood this at the time. He had entered a fugue state. <br /><br />Here's the link for it.<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue_state<br /><br />So,if you needed someone to have a conveniently timed amnesia that wasn't related to a hit on the head, you could use this fugue state.Rowena Cory Daniellshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08995983965583233914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-51960963527995159902009-07-01T15:49:50.368-04:002009-07-01T15:49:50.368-04:00Amnesia can be fun, but now we have no excuse for ...Amnesia can be fun, but now we have no excuse for hitting the hero on the wrong part of the head to produce the type of amnesia we want.<br /><br />Some of the short term effects could be nice and challenging, in a crucial witness to a crime.<br /><br />Thanks, Doc. Have some virtual pecans for the LabRats.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-50498151161435346672009-07-01T13:08:21.400-04:002009-07-01T13:08:21.400-04:00I love head injuries in fiction. There's makin...I love head injuries in fiction. There's making life difficult but not impossible for your hero, then there's the Total Recall moment when the hero discovers tha tHE'S the bad guy...<br /><br />Head injuries, in fiction, are you friend...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-38375059285568050762009-07-01T10:27:35.193-04:002009-07-01T10:27:35.193-04:00Actually, now I think about it I do *remember* wat...Actually, now I think about it I do *remember* watching a TV show fairly recently that used retrograde memory loss, actually two of them. Dirty Sexy Money and, I'm pretty sure, Ugly Betty. Not that I watched either of them, but the miad likes to have them on while she's dusting the silverware.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-21790783577673246232009-07-01T10:20:25.926-04:002009-07-01T10:20:25.926-04:00BTW anterograde amnesia is what the character had ...BTW anterograde amnesia is what the character had in Memento, yes?<br /><br />DO Romance novels USE retrograde memory loss as a plot device these days? I know it was pretty common a few decades ago - but I'm not up to date with my romance reading.<br /><br />I'd go out on a limb here and say that the only people using the stereotypical memory loss plot device are doing it for laughs. <br /><br />It's a bit like saying everything was a dream and then I woke up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-52878861706081069162009-07-01T09:47:39.205-04:002009-07-01T09:47:39.205-04:00Humor and plot are a different matter. If the goa...Humor and plot are a different matter. If the goal is to be funny, and amnesia gets you to that goal, great!<br /><br />However, Romance novels are particularly guilty of using total amnesia as drama. Frankly, there are *many* more interesting things that can be done with head injury than amnesia.<br /><br />It's about empathizing with a character. While the public is familiar with total amnesia in theory, they are highly unlikely to have experienced it. On the other hand, it is more likely that they have first or second-hand experience of the consequences of stroke, tumor, epilepsy, paralysis, post-surgical side effects, making it easier for them to empathize with the character.Speaker to Lab Animalshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10403328464472141601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4940224740718934743.post-72145689536021859282009-07-01T09:22:36.908-04:002009-07-01T09:22:36.908-04:00First, keep it simple. If the big dumb hero takes ...<b>First, keep it simple. If the big dumb hero takes a glancing blow to the head, he's not gonna have total amnesia and lead a complete second life for 20 years.</b><br /><br />... unless that would be funny and entertaining...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com