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Emotional trauma amnesia

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There is scientific consensus that amnesia can be caused by head trauma and other organic causes. More controversial is amnesia caused by emotional trauma. There is little or no experimental evidence for the psychodynamic mechanism of repression. Yet movies portray this as a common event. Do you believe that amnesia can be caused by emotional trauma? What possible underlying mechanism would explain this phenomena in neurologic terms? Address some of the doubts cast on the validity of psychological amnesia cited by the doubters. You must address both the pros and cons of this issue. I am interested in critical thinking, not just advocating one position over the other. Submit references.

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Solution Summary

A discussion of the possibility of amnesia caused by emotional trauma, and an explanation of the same.

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Amnesia caused by emotional trauma is known as "dissociative" amnesia. This is a well documented phenomena, and has been demonstrated in experiments in both animals and humans. Here is one article available online that will give you information about that: The Neurology of Ttraumatic "Dissociative" Amnesia by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D. This ...

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