Amnesia is a medical condition in which the patient loses all (or most) of her or his memories of past events. Physically amnesia is explained by the deletion or damage of memory engrams.
Humanoids
Captain James T. Kirk suffered from amnesia after being accidentally hit by a memory beam on the idyllic planet Amerind. His inner thoughts picture his condition as follows:
- "Where am I? What place is this? What are these? I feel I should know. They're familiar, and yet unfamiliar. How did I get here? Who am I? Try to remember."
- "These last few weeks, my love for Miramanee grows stronger with each passing day. However, the dreams return every night. Fragments of memories... I can almost get hold of them, and then..." (TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome")
The Zalkonian John Doe experienced a complete memory loss after having been severely injured in a crash. His memory loss may be especially related to damages to his brain stem. (TNG: "Transfigurations")
It appears that contact with a coalescent organism can provoke a memory loss of the events happened shortly before, joined with the feeling of "having ones memory drained right out of one-self". (TNG: "Aquiel")
In 2372, after his appearance and identity were changed to free him from his dishonor, Kurn (now Rodek) was told by Doctor Julian Bashir that he was suffering from a form of permanent amnesia. (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")
Diagnostic
Psychotricorders may have a subroutine for amnesia analysis as one was use to help analyzing Scotty, who was apparently amnesic in 2267. (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold")
Recovery
The memory of Captain Kirk – suffering from amnesia due to a memory beam – was restored by a short mind meld with the Vulcan Spock. (TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome")
Counseling is a long but promising way of restoring one's memory. Counsellor Troi assured Geordi La Forge, they would together restore the memories, which had been deleted and replaced by the Romulans as they brainwashed him. (TNG: "The Mind's Eye")
Androids
Androids can be affected by memory loss. One possible cause of amnesia is an overload of the positronic net, in such case the memories from before the overload can be recovered but none of those between the accident and the reparation (TNG: "Thine Own Self"). Data's programming possesses a memory loss fail-safe system to prevent anyone from taking advantage on him in this case. (Star Trek Nemesis; Star Trek: Insurrection)
Dealing with amnesia
Persons suffering from memory loss are often given a new name when their amnesia occurs in a place where no one knows them. On Barkon IV, Lt. Cmdr. Data was named Jayden by two children. The two had considered calling him "Radioactive", for they mistook the inscription on the case Data carried for his actual name (TNG: "Thine Own Self"). Captain Kirk who was in a similar situation on the planet Amerind, was asked his name by the Natives and managed to remember "Ki... Ku...". He therefore was named Kirok (TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome"). The English placeholder name John Doe, commonly used in legal action, case or discussion for a party, whose true identity is unknown was used by Dr. Crusher to name a survivor of a crash. When John Doe recovered consciousness he could not remember who he was and kept this name.
In situations in which a pretended memory loss would be convenient, amnesic persons are often accused of lying. While investigating on the murder of Keith Rocha, Cmdr. Riker assumed the suspect Aquiel Uhnari was hiding informations or had conveniently forgotten them. (TNG: "Aquiel")
Similar conditions
Imagined amnesia
In 2367 Commander Riker was told in a holographic projection, that a virus had caused a form of amnesia, destroying all his memories from the moment he became infected to the present, pretendedly sixteen years later. Riker discovered little by little details of his life in those years, without remembering anything. He then noticed things that cannot be possible, for example a photograph of a holodeck creation, who is said to have been his wife. Riker then confronted everyone with the lie and the holo-images vanished. (TNG: "Future Imperfect")
Self-impose memory blockade
After a traumatic event a person can self-impose a memory block. The deletion of any traces, log entries for instance, can be practiced. Telepaths such as the Cairn sense the blocked memories as "a part of [the person] that is dark", meaning they cannot see it. Under intense fatigue and stress the blockade may break down, particularly if a similar event is witnessed. In the case of Lwaxana Troi this led to coma. She had effectively erased all memories of her daughter Kestra after her accidental drown and could not stand the sudden recovery of them. Only after facing the truth and accepting those memories, could her psyche find peace so that Lwaxana awakened. (TNG: "Dark Page")
Memory wipe
A memory wipe is a medical procedure to selectively erase memories from a person, generally practiced without her or his knowledge.
See also
- Lacunar amnesia a psychological form of memory loss.
- Anterograde amnesia a medical condition which prevents the sufferer from storing new memories.
- Memory wipe