Understanding Short-Term Memory Loss: Causes & When to Seek Help

Mild, gradual short-term memory loss may occur as a part of normal aging. Short-term memory loss may also be secondary to drug or alcohol intoxication or abuse, but other, more concerning, causes may be onset of dementia, bleeding in the brain or skull cavity, head trauma or a tumor in the brain. Short-term memory loss can be noticeable when people continually repeat stories that they have already told, when they continually ask the same questions over and over, or when they often cannot remember things that happened to them during the day.

Instructions

Three Item Recall

• 1

  Vocalize three unrelated items to the examinee, for example, an apple, ball and table.

• 2

  Make sure they have registered these three items by having them repeat them back to you immediately. Make it known to the examinee that you will ask them to recall the three items in a few minutes.

• 3

  Wait five minutes and ask the person to recall the three items. During the five-minute interim, distract the examinee with other conversation. This prevents them from constantly reminding themselves of the three items to be recalled. Most normal individuals can recall at least two of the three items and will eventually remember the third item with some prompting.

Three Item Location Recall

• 4

  Hide three pennies somewhere in the room where the examination is taking place. Show the examinee where you are hiding the pennies.

• 5

  Make sure they have registered the locations of the three pennies by having them point to where they are hidden. Make it known to the examinee that you will ask them to recall the the locations of the pennies in a few minutes.

• 6

  Wait five minutes and then ask the person to recall the three items. During the five-minute interim, distract the examinee with other conversation. This prevents them from constantly reminding themselves of the three locations to be recalled. Most individuals can recall at least two of the three locations and will eventually remember the third item with some prompting.