Transient global amnesia
| Transient global amnesia | |
|---|---|
| Areas of hypoperfusion, seen above in the left sided hippocampus (seen as white punctate lesions on diffusion weighted MRI) are a characteristic finding in Transient Global Amnesia | |
| Specialty | Neurology |
| Symptoms | Memory impairment |
| Complications | Usually no long term sequelae |
| Usual onset | Sudden |
| Duration | Less than 24 hours |
| Causes | Unknown |
| Diagnostic method | Clinical diagnosis, imaging may aid in diagnosis |
| Treatment | Reassurance |
| Medication | None |
| Prognosis | Good |
Transient global amnesia (TGA) is a neurological disorder whose key defining characteristic is a temporary but almost total disruption of short-term memory with a range of problems accessing older memories. A person in a state of TGA exhibits no other signs of impaired cognitive functioning but recalls only the last few moments of consciousness and, possibly, a few deeply encoded facts of the individual's past e.g., their childhood, family, or home.
Both TGA and anterograde amnesia deal with disruptions of short-term memory. However, a TGA episode generally lasts no more than 2 to 8 hours before the patient returns to normal with the ability to form new memories.