n. partial or complete loss of memory. Either temporary or permanent, it may be due to physiological factors such as injury or disease (organic amnesia), to substance use (drug-induced amnesia), or to psychological factors such as a traumatic experience (see dissociative amnesia). A disturbance in memory marked by inability to learn new information is called anterograde amnesia, and one marked by inability to recall previously learned information or past events is called retrograde amnesia. When severe enough to interfere markedly with social or occupational functioning or to represent a significant decline from a previous level of functioning, the memory loss is known as amnestic disorder. —amnesiac adj., n. —amnesic or amnestic adj. APA Dictionary of Psychology
