How come this is possible?

Question

how come when u get amnesia, u forget everything but u just never forget how to speak or write and stuff?

every time u see a person with an amnesia in a movie or something, they can remember how to speak and talk and walk, but they only forget their past 'experiences'... how is this? shouldn't the other stuff be gone too with amnesia?

Answer 1

i think if you have amnesia you dont forget all of your past experiences. just most of the more recent ones.

Answer 2

It all depends on what part of the brain is affected. Those people who retain motor function must have damaged the part of their brain that is geared more towards memory storage than motor function. Each area of the brain is specialized for a different purpose, so the symptoms vary widely depending on where the brain is damaged.

There is actually a type of amnesia that is the opposite - where the person has most of thier life memories, but they forget how to do simple tasks like walking, writing or talking. In these cases, the memory-specialized part of the brain was damaged.

There are also types that affect judgement, decision-making and personality.