Short term memory and strokes

Short term memory and stroke

I would like to talk about short term memory and strokes.  Strokes can affect the short term memory where they can’t remember things in short terms.  My father had a stroke and although he can remember long term memories, he has a very hard time with short term memory.  When his stroke first occurred he seemed fine.  He could remember everything except for what happened right before his stroke and immediately after.  Then, about a week after his stroke his short term memory started to fail.  He would forget to shut doors, turn lights off, turn the water off, flush the toilet, brush his teeth, among other things.

The doctors told him to rehearse everything and try to remember by repetition.  He tried doing this but he could not master it.  He still forgets to shut doors and turn things off, like lights and the tv.  He will forget where he laid his car keys.  He can remember things from his childhood and other memories that were before his stroke.  These memories are his long term memories.

It’s odd how the mind works.  Just a little damage and things are forgotten forever.  I do not know if it was the swelling on his brain or perhaps the medicines they put my dad on, but his short term memory has been affected for life.  It has been 10 years since his stroke and he has come a very long way and is back to normal as much as possible, but will never regain his short term memory.  This frustrates my father because he can no longer work on things around the house because he forgets how to do things.  He has an idea, which would come from his long term memory, but when he actually starts on the project, he will forget mid-way what he was doing.  This has also been very frustrating to my mom because she feels that he is not the same person.  Strokes are a pretty bad thing, and if they can be avoided, it is best to listen to your doctor’s advice.

One thought on “Short term memory and strokes

  1. Cyn Roebuck

    Hi Selena Kae,

    Please accept my sympathies. The loss of your father’s fully functioning cognitive capabilities must be frustrating for him and your family. Unfortunately, it is a good example of the complexities involved in our STM. From what you describe, it would seem that your father has suffered damage to his prefrontal cortex (PFC) resulting in a loss of his functioning working memory (WM). The reason that I am calling it WM and not STM is because of Baddley’s (1993, as cited by Goldstein, 2011) research identifying the differences between storing and manipulating memories through the introduction of recognizing the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketch pad, and the central executive (pp. 131-132). Baddley (1993) and Miyaki et al. (2000, as cited in PSU WC, L5, 2014) identified the central executive component of WM as being responsible for “controlling attention between tasks and strategies” and patients with damage to PFC show diminished capabilities when this area is damaged (pp. 9-12). Goldstein (2011) also discussed Wallis et al.’s (2001) research documenting the PFC being responsible for coordinating memories and “future events” (p. 382). This is what led me to think that the problem is within his working memory, and you should not give up hope. And, I really hope that he continue to do rehearsals, because Voytek et al. (2011) has found individual cases showing remarkable neuroplasticity 20 years after the stroke that caused the impairments. But, I know it is not easy from personal ongoing experiences, so I wanted to recognize the hard and difficult work that your family is experiencing.

    References

    Goldstein, B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Wadsworth, Inc. ISBN: 978-0840033499.

    Pennsylvania State University World Campus. (2014). PSYCH 256 Lesson 5: Short-Term and Working Memory. Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/fa14/psych256/001/content/06_lesson/12_page.html.

    Voytek, B., Davis, M., Yago, E., Barceló, F., Vogel, E. K., & Knight, R. T. (2010). Dynamic Neuroplasticity after Human Prefrontal Cortex Damage. Neuron, 68(3), 401–408. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.09.018.

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