Ecmnesia

Sometimes, as in cases of epileptic seizures, brain damage or poisoning with hallucinogenic substances, it is possible to experience memories from the past very vividly, as if they were happening in the present. This relatively understudied phenomenon is called “ecmnesia”.

In this article , we will define the main characteristics of ecmnesia and explain its causes . In addition, we will talk about paramnesias, other peculiar phenomena related to memory, such as flash memories or cryptoamnesia.

Ecmnesia: definition and features

Ecmnesia is a perceptive alteration that consists of experiencing situations that occurred in the past as if they were happening in the present . These experiences have a very intense vividness and, while they are happening, the person behaves as if he were really in it, with great emotional involvement.

That is why ecmnesia can be considered as a type of hallucinatory experience, although this phenomenon is often referred to in the scientific literature on the psychology of memory. On the other hand, the concept of “ecnesic delirium” highlights the illusory content of these experiences , since those who have them often believe that they are actually living them.

Equinesia does not always have a pathological character, but its clinical consideration depends on the context in which it occurs. For example, if they appear due to the timely use of a hallucinogenic drug, these experiences cannot be properly understood as memory disorders.

Sometimes the term ecnesia is also used to refer to other memory disorders that are not always related to hallucinations. Specifically, some medical dictionaries define ecmnesia as the loss of recent memories, while others add that memory is retained for the remote past.

Causes of Ecmnesia

The frequency of ecmnesia is very low. Experiences of this type have been described in cases of brain injury, especially different forms of dementia , which deteriorate tissue in the nervous system, causing changes in consciousness, cognition and memory.

Other biological alterations associated with ecnesia are delirium or confusional syndrome, which frequently appear in hospitalized elderly people, and the twilight states of temporal epilepsy. These transient phenomena are characterized by an alteration of consciousness that prevents the perception of the environment correctly.

There are several types of substances with hallucinogenic effects that can cause perceptual alterations similar to those we have described. Some of the most well-known hallucinogenic drugs are fungi that contain psilocybin, mescaline (found in the peyote cactus), and lysergic acid or LSD.

Psychological literature also links ecmnesia to hysteria, although this diagnostic category has been abandoned over time. In these cases, it is more likely that the reminiscence is due to autosuggestion rather than biological factors such as drugs or brain injury.

Other similar phenomena: paramnesias

Ecmnesia is classified as paramnesia , a term used to describe alterations in memory that include false memories and/or an erroneous perception of temporal context. Other authors include ecmnesia in the hypermnesia group, an ambiguous concept that refers to the presence of abnormally sharp memories.

Next, we will briefly describe the main characteristics of 5 other types of paramnesia: pseudo-memories (collusion and fantastical pseudology), déja vu and its opposite, Nunca vu, reduplicative paramnesia, cryptoamnesia and flash memories.

1. Fantastic pseudology and collusion

These two phenomena are pseudo-memories: they consist in the spontaneous and involuntary creation of false memories to fill memory gaps. Confabulation is the basic form and is associated with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, while pseudology fantastic is characterized by impossible narratives and appears in Münchausen syndrome.

2. Déjà vu and Nunca vu

The famous déjà vu happens when, faced with a new experience, we have the feeling that we have already lived it. It is associated with fatigue, depersonalization and epilepsy. On the contrary, something we already know does not generate a sense of familiarity.

3. Reductive paramnesia

Reduplicative paramnesia consists of the sensation of knowing a place or a person that is really unknown to the subject; The classic example is that of a hospital. Although reminiscent of déjà vu, this phenomenon is more associated with pseudo-memories and appears in Korsakoff’s syndrome, dementia and confusional states.

4. Cryptoamnesia

In cryptoamnesia, a memory is mistakenly perceived as a new production . It is very common in fields such as art or science: semantic memory appears without also recovering the context in which this memory footprint was generated; therefore, it is believed that there was an idea or thought that actually came from someone else.

5. Flash memories

Flash memories are recorded very vividly because of the impact the situation had on the person. A typical example is remembering what was being done during the attack on the Twin Towers. Memories of traumatic episodes can also be conceived as flash memories and rarely as ecmesia.