How Do Concussions Cause Amnesia?
Amnesia is a really handy/cliché literary device and the inciting incident for countless Hanna-Barbera cartoons, but it's also a real, serious affliction caused by major head trauma. Learn...
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Amnesia. It’s a pretty great way to add some drama to stories. A bowling ball to the head and, suddenly, Fred Flintstone can’t remember who he is. Another bonk, and everything goes back to normal. It makes for some pleasant cartoon hijinks, but in reality, concussion-induced amnesia is a real thing and is really serious. So how does it happen? The most common causes of amnesia are strokes, brain surgery, and infection in your brain. But amnesia /can/ be caused by a concussion -- when a bump to your head or body rattles your brain around enough in your skull to cause damage to delicate tissue. Sometimes that damage just makes you sleepy and headachy for a few days, but the effects can be more serious. Right after you take a hit, those sloshed-around ne...
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Amnesia. It’s a pretty great way to add some drama to stories. A bowling ball to the head and, suddenly, Fred Flintstone can’t remember who he is. Another bonk, and everything goes back to normal. It makes for some pleasant cartoon hijinks, but in reality, concussion-induced amnesia is a real thing and is really serious. So how does it happen? The most common causes of amnesia are strokes, brain surgery, and infection in your brain. But amnesia /can/ be caused by a concussion -- when a bump to your head or body rattles your brain around enough in your skull to cause damage to delicate tissue. Sometimes that damage just makes you sleepy and headachy for a few days, but the effects can be more serious. Right after you take a hit, those sloshed-around ne...
