Amnesia Amnesia Amnesia refers to difficulty in learning new information or in remembering the past. These impairments can have a functional origin, but more commonly they result from neurological injury or disease.
Functional amnesia is a psychiatric disorder.
The amnesia in this case is presumed to result from conflict and dissociation, and its presentation varies from individual to individual. Typically, a patient is admitted to the hospital in a confused or frightened state. Memory for the past has been lost, especially personal, autobiographical memory. Often, the patient cannot produce his or her own name. Yet the ability to learn new material is almost always intact.