Which condition is characterized by impaired ability to form new memories while other cognitive functions remain relatively intact?

Which condition is characterized by impaired ability to form new memories while other cognitive functions remain relatively intact?

• A. Amnestic Disorder
• B. Fund of Knowledge
• C. Vocabulary
• D. Calculation Ability

Answer: (A)

Memories encoding and consolidation are the key. In an amnestic disorder, the person has a notably impaired ability to form new memories (anterograde amnesia) while other cognitive abilities—language, attention, abstract thinking, and problem-solving—remain relatively intact, and remote memories from before the event are usually preserved. This reflects damage to memory-forming systems, often in the medial temporal lobes like the hippocampus, so new information isn’t reliably stored even though existing knowledge and skills stay reachable. For example, someone may repeatedly forget recent conversations or events after they happen but still recall who they are, their past experiences, and can perform tasks that rely on skills they already learned. The items that assess general knowledge, language vocabulary, or calculation rely on long-standing semantic memory or numerical skills, which would typically be spared in this pattern, making amnestic disorder the best fit.

Memories encoding and consolidation are the key. In an amnestic disorder, the person has a notably impaired ability to form new memories (anterograde amnesia) while other cognitive abilities—language, attention, abstract thinking, and problem-solving—remain relatively intact, and remote memories from before the event are usually preserved. This reflects damage to memory-forming systems, often in the medial temporal lobes like the hippocampus, so new information isn’t reliably stored even though existing knowledge and skills stay reachable. For example, someone may repeatedly forget recent conversations or events after they happen but still recall who they are, their past experiences, and can perform tasks that rely on skills they already learned. The items that assess general knowledge, language vocabulary, or calculation rely on long-standing semantic memory or numerical skills, which would typically be spared in this pattern, making amnestic disorder the best fit.