Brain Injury

There are three possible distinct brain areas that affect anterograde amnesia :

1. Hippocampus - damage can occur through:

• stroke to one of the arteries supplying blood to that area
• epilepsy
• aneurysm - a small bulge in the wall of a blood vessel,
• encephalitis - brain inflammation that causes swelling and can damage brain tissue
• hypoxia - reduction in blood flow
• carbon monoxide poisoning
• near-drowning or near-suffocation
• early stages of Alzheimer's Disease
• normal aging.- can cause some dammage to the hippocampus

2. basal forebrain - a group of structures which produce acetylcholine . Damage can occur through: aneurysm of the artery supplying blood to the basal forebrain.

3. diencephalon - a set of structures deep in the brain. It is unknown why damage to this area causes amnesia. Korsakoff's disease is a syndrome which can damage the diencephalon and cause anterograde amnesia.

Besides causing amnesia, some brain disorders or injuries can result in selective forms of amnesia, such as, prosopagnosia, a brain disorder in which the person can't recognize faces (McAleer, 1985. p.23).