Fragmentation of memory

Fragmentation of memory is a memory disorder in when an individual is unable to associate the context of the memories to their autobiographical (episodic) memory. The explicit facts and details of the events may be known to the person (semantic memory). However, the facts of the events retrieve none of the effective and somatic elements of the experience. Therefore, the emotional and personal content of the memories can't be associated with the rest of the memory. Fragmentation of memory can occur for relatively recent events as well.

The impaired person usually suffers from physical damage to or underdevelopment of the hippocampus. This may be due to a genetic disorder or be the result of trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Brain dysfunction often has other related consequences, such as oversensitivity to some stimuli, impulsiveness, lack of direction in life, occasional aggressiveness, a distorted perception of oneself, and impaired ability to empathize with others, which is usually masked.

Fragmentation of memory is a type of memory disruption pertaining to the flaws or irregularities in sequences of memories, "coherence, and content” in the narrative or story of the event. During a traumatic experience, memories can be encoded irregularly which creates imperfections in the memory. It is also described as a memory that has been jumbled, confused, or repeated unnecessarily.

Memories of trauma are often fragmented because these memories aren't usually put together properly. Instead, they include intense emotions, sensations, and perceptions. Memories of traumatic events can eventually be constructed into a narrative but usually remain fragmented. In peri-traumatic dissociation, where individuals separate memories from their emotional experiences, there is a “data-driven” processing style and “conceptually driven” processing occurs less. This leads to fragmentation of memory relating to the events of the trauma, meaning that the individual encoded the trauma based on facts of what they saw but they are missing the structure that pieces this together into one synthesized memory. Fragmentation of memory is claimed to happen in posttraumatic stress disorder victims often. During the traumatic event, dissociation occurs and this leads to irregularities in the encoding process. This then leads to lapses in the memory and therefore fragmentation of memory. Therefore, it is important to understand fragmentation of memory in order to treat posttraumatic stress disorder.

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