Which amnesia denotes inability to remember events after a trauma or incident?

• A. Anterograde amnesia
• B. Retrograde amnesia
• C. Global amnesia
• D. Transient amnesia

Answer: (A)

Anterograde amnesia is the form of memory loss in which encoding and consolidation of new information after a trauma fail. People with this type cannot form memories of events that occur after the injury, even though memories from before the trauma remain intact. The brain areas critical for creating new long‑term memories, especially the hippocampus and connected networks, are disrupted, so new experiences aren’t stored. You might see someone remember the events before the incident but repeatedly forget what happened just after it, or fail to remember recent conversations or surroundings.

This differs from retrograde amnesia, where trouble lies in recalling memories from before the event rather than after. Global amnesia is not a precise term in this context but is sometimes used to describe widespread memory loss involving both past and recent memories. Transient amnesia refers to a temporary episode of memory loss, which can resemble a brief global amnesia but is short in duration.