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Mallori S. Baker
Research has shown that when someone receives a head injury, just like the football
player in the story, it is crucial for doctors to identify how bad the injury is as quickly as
possible, otherwise not detecting a concussion can lead to serious issues with memory formation
and retrieval. The Football player at first displays perfect memory capabilities, but when the
doctor comes back to re-run the memory tests she previously had ran only 15 minutes prior, the
player acts as if he has never seen the doctor. This type of head injury would most likely be
considered a concussion that caused the football player to engage in anterograde amnesia,
furthermore would indicate damage to the limbic system particularly the hippocampus.
The football player is able to communicate and memorize the information from the
memory tests for a short amount of time, which indicates that the players short-term memory
has not been damaged. He is able to remember the items from the test for a short amount of time,
but is unable to retrieve the information again when the doctor comes back. The Hippocampus
which is a building block to forming and retrieving memories is located within the temporal lobe,
and is considered a part of the limbic system. In a famous study of a man named HM, a doctor
made a lesion within his brain and removed the hippocampus and surrounding area of his brain
in order to stop his reoccurring seizures. Through the doctors procedure, many psychologists
have been able to gather crucial information about what parts of the brain control memory and
learning. HM was unable to form his short-term memories into long-term memories after the
removal of the hippocampus, which concluded that the anterior hippocampus and hippocampal
gyrus, either separately or together, are critically concerned in the retention of current experience
(Squire, 2009).
LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND MEMORY 3
Although the football player seems to be able to remember everything prior to his loss of
consciousness, but cannot form his short-term memories into long-term memories indicates that
the football player is experiencing anterograde amnesia. The reason the football player is
experiencing anterograde amnesia is mostly likely due to the fact, that when he was hit on the
line of scrimmage the impact of the hit caused his frontal lobe to bounce off his skull, which
caused the loss of consciousness and the hippocampus to jolt. In 2001 Robert Cantu in his
research found out that, in the minutes to days after concussive brain injuries, brain cells that
were not irreversibly destroyed remained alive but were in a vulnerable state (Cantu, 2001). This
could have been a reason why the player did not exhibited anterograde amnesia right after he
gained consciousness. The neurons in his brain could have also been stunned and could have
caused either an influx of chemicals in the synaptic cleft, or the opposite not enough chemicals to
cause an action. After the jolt from the tackle and the player coming back to consciousness his
short-term memory was intact, but the connection from his short-term to long-term memory was
damaged.
Recent research on retired NFL players who have experienced concussions have found
that those who experienced more concussions seemed to have a thinner hippocampal lining
(Macciocchi, Barth, Littlefield and Cantu, 2001), which could affect the formation of short-term
memories into long-term memories. Research has also indicated that those with mild concussions
who appear to have anterograde amnesia are usually able to start making new long-term lasting
memories anywhere from 24 hours to a week later depending on the severity of the concussion.
Those who have severe or repetitive concussions tend to struggle forming new memories for
longer amounts of time. It is generally believed that the degree of brain injury sustained is
LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND MEMORY 4
indicated by the depth and duration of coma (Cantu, 2001), which will then result in the player
After analysis of the football players lack of memory of doing the doctors memory test
15 minutes prior to her previously conducting the tests, indicates that the player is experiencing
anterograde amnesia. With further research and analysis over anterograde amnesia the region of
the brain most likely affected by the loss of consciousness and difficulty making long-term
memories, is the hippocampus. Other possibilities could be the frontal lobe being jolted from the
impact, or the neurons in the brain conducting abnormal chemical flow within the synapse. The
football players short-term memory is still functional, but the process of transferring short-term
to long-term memories has been damaged. Depending on the severity of the concussion the
player could experience the anterograde amnesia anywhere from minutes to days or weeks later.
With further research on retired NFL players psychologists have concluded, that with the more
frequently someone obtains concussions, the thinner the hippocampal lining becomes. This can
cause long term effects with memory and the ability to learn and retain certain information.
LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND MEMORY 5
References
Implications in Grading and Safe Return to Play. Journal of Athletic Training. 36(3),
244248.
Macciocchi, S., Barth, J., Littlefield, L., & Cantu, R. (2001). Multiple concussions and
Squire, L. R. (2009). The legacy of patient H.M. for neuroscience. Neuron. 61(1), 6-9.