A car accident can lead to different injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). The impact created by a vehicle crash can cause damage to your brain. When the brain strikes the internal bone of your skull, its structures and nerve tissues can get damaged.
TBIs cause different effects, from immediate to long-term ones, and one of them is memory issues. Here is how this can happen.
Effects on short-term memory
Medial temporal lobes and medial diencephalic structures of the brain play a crucial role in storing information temporarily before moving to the neocortex level to be stored. TBIs can damage these structures, leading to memory problems.
However, you may not forget everything from your past. You can remember your past life, including the accident, but may have issues learning and remembering new information – this is short-term memory. Nonetheless, some people have reported not remembering the injury itself.
You may find it challenging to remember details of a conversation, where you left things or what you were doing. Further, you may forget the routes you took earlier in the day and can lose track of time.
Prospective memory
Damage to the structures mentioned above may also affect your prospective memory – the memory for intentions. You may forget to keep appointments, forget occasions like birthdays and forget the promises you make. It can be stressful to always be late or to be reminded of things you intended to do.
Suffering a TBI from a motor vehicle accident may lead to difficulties in learning and remembering new things. And in some cases, you may not even remember the accident. If you or your loved one is experiencing these effects, consider your options to get fair compensation to cover the damages suffered.