Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
A cognitive approach to experimental amnesia
Abstract:
A review of selected experiments indicates that not all examples of experimental amnesia are due to the failure of a memory to fixate. Briefly, the argument is that the fixation of a memory occurs within a very short time and that its retrieval is aided if it is coded into a contextual memory system. An amnesic agent serves to block (inhibit) memories rather than disrupt them and has its effects on active memories, whatever their age. In sum, the empirical retrograde amnesia gradient does not necessarily support traditional consolidation theory.
Related Concept Videos
Experimental Designs
Higher Mental Functions of Brain: Learning and Memory
Cognitivism
Previously dominated by behaviorism, which prioritized observable behaviors and largely ignored mental processes, psychology transformed in the 1950s. Cognitive psychologists argue that understanding how we think and process information is...
Interference and Decay
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Amnesia
The severity and duration of memory loss vary depending on the type and underlying cause. Amnesia is classified into two main types: retrograde and anterograde.
Retrograde amnesia is marked by the loss of memories formed before the onset of the condition. Patients may recall distant past events but often forget those occurring shortly before the incident.
Anterograde...
Dissociative Amnesia

