Stranded Man: Losing Memories Every 90 Minutes, Stuck In A Day On 2005

Recently, a case study was conducted in an effort of doctors to find answers and help a former British army man whose memory only lasts for 90 minutes and is stuck in recalling a day in 2005. The study says that the strange case occurred after a root canal surgery that left the man with the memory deficiency.

The patient, only identified as “William O.” and a member of the British Armed Forces, wakes each day convinced he still has to make his appointment for a canal surgery on March 14, 2005, researchers said. According to the case study, the British man is unable to form new memories due to amnesia, that researchers say occurred after receiving an anesthetic 10 years ago from a dental visit that left him to only remember things for up to 90 minutes and returns with a blank slate of memory.

Prior to the memory loss event, the 38-year-old man went for a dental procedure. William underwent a root canal treatment for which he was given a local anesthetic by his dentist. After the procedure, the man couldn’t get up with "slow speech" and was described as “vacant.” His memory was totally blank, according to the case study published in the journal Neurocase.

With his condition, William was brought into the hospital for treatment. The study recalls that the medical staff who treated the patient found he could only remember new things for about 90 minutes then his memories vanish.

William, in an interview with BBC News, said that he remembers the dental treatment with his dentist. "I remember getting into the chair and the dentist inserting the local anesthetic," he said.

Within a decade, the patient can now recall at least an hour and a half of events before it vanishes, but day in, day out, he wakes up believing it’s still 2005 and that he needs to get to the dentist. Researchers said that "every day he thinks it is the day of the dental appointment," then added that "he wakes up believing that he should still be in the military, stationed abroad." In the study, researchers found that the strange case of William’s episodic memory didn’t affects his personality and awareness on his identity.

William’s situation was described by researchers as a new battle for science. The study shows that William had no history of psychiatric problems before the amnesia occurs, and his family carries no records of mental illness. Herein, researchers believe that the patient’s condition doesn’t have any concern with the anesthetic or the dental procedure.

The condition of William was described as anterograde amnesia, a result of the damage to the region of the brain critical to learning and memory, according to the study. Moreover, his clinical psychologist, Dr Gerald Burgess stated that the dental procedure is not the reason that caused his memory loss, as several different types of brain scans have failed to find any visible abnormalities to his brain, including MRI and CT scan results.

The researchers delivered two ideas to help figure the patient’s condition. BBC Future explains that the patient is experiencing an unusual psychogenic amnesia caused by a traumatic life event. But according to the study, William was fit and had no mood and emotional problems before his condition.

Researchers also consider another possible explanation that he may have a deficiency in processing the flow of information. The deficiency was said as a result of a problem in protein synthesis, a process needed for the restructuring of nerve cell connections, or synapses that permit the flow of information that may shortened William’s memory to 90 minutes.

With doctors are searching for the solution to his strange condition, the study also shows that William, with his family, adapted into his short-term memory condition. William stays updated through a journal on his smartphone with notes for him to read each morning to recall events, and he uses GPS to get around the neighborhood. Though with his family’s assistance, researchers said that William is always surprised with changes on his family and their age the way they were at the day of the dental appointment.

To contact the writer, email: darwinsamuelm.malicdem@gmail.com