Hey Kelly,
In your post to Doris, you nailed to the point my situation with memory. October 19th will mark years since my LTL, still seizure free. Take care, keep a smile on your face!
Steve
--- In epilepsy@yahoogroups.com, Kelly Porter <kellyporter@...> wrote:
>
> Doris,
>
> I had my RTL in March 2008. I definitely have problems with memory.
> Often people do not understand the terms short term and long term in
> relation to memory. There are actually 4 things that influence memory.
> Sensory memory, what we taste touch hear smell is the first level of
> memory, it how we learned when we were babies. Then there is short term
> memory, conversion of memory to long term, and long term memory.
>
> Short term memory is defined as the memory that lasts only a few seconds
> to minute. It is the memory that helps you type and remember what
> letters and words you typed last, for example. It is what allows you to
> look something up and use the information right away, whether it stores
> in long term memory depends on how much you concentrate and repeat the
> memory in the short term process. The process of converting short term
> memories to long term memories happens, for most people, in the right
> temporal lobe. An RTL then makes it more difficult to store memory for
> short term use, and convert new things to long term memory. So, for
> example, you will remember all your previous stored memories and be able
> to recall them, but converting new things to long term memory becomes
> harder, requiring more time and concentration.
>
> Long term memory is memories your brain stores for later use, even if it
> just later that day. It is the information your brain stores because
> you concentrate on it more, you "make a point" of trying to remember
> it. Such as your own telephone number. When you first get a new one,
> most people have to have it written down and keep looking at it until
> they have used it over and over. At some point your brain decides it is
> important enough, and converts it to long term memory for recall later.
>
> I definitely have issues with short term memory, and converting memory
> into long term memory. For example, when I type, I have to reread
> everything I type several times, because I will literally repeat words
> because I forgot I just typed that word 2 seconds earlier. That is a
> short term issue. I will open the refrigerator for something, and
> forget why, short term memory issue. I cannot go to the store for even
> 2 things without writing them down, that is actually long term memory,
> information I stored earlier to recall when I got to the store. My son
> attends a virtual academy, if I learned what he is working on when I was
> in school, algebra for example, I can recall it easily and help him.
> Long term memories from before surgery. If I pre-read what he is doing
> tomorrow because I didn't learn it in school, I have to re-read it the
> next day because it didn't convert to long term memory.
>
> Also, I have found that concentration matters, and sensory input is very
> distracting to the process of converting short term memory into long
> term memory. For example, if I am reading and someone makes noise
> around me, I have to re-read what I just read because the noise
> disrupted the process of converting it to long term memory. For
> example, I am typing this email and my son is working on Spanish, and my
> husband is outside mowing the lawn, those two things combined have made
> typing this email difficult, because the distraction means I can't
> concentrate, short term memory is disrupted, and I have to keep
> re-reading what I just typed to get back on track.
>
> In part, what effects happen after an RTL vs. an LTL depends on which
> side is dominate for memory in that person. For most people, the left
> side if memory dominate, storing long term memory, while the right side
> is responsible for short term memory and the conversion of that memory
> to long term. In some people it is the other way around. This is part
> of why they do nuero psych tests and a WADA test before surgery, in
> addition to finding out which side is dominate for hearing and speech.
>
> Kelly
>
> On 9/26/2011 10:14 AM, DorisY wrote:
> > If you have had the surgery, either left temporal or right temporal,
> > have you experienced difficulty with short term memory?
> > Doris
>
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