Retrograde amnesia is defined as the loss of memory for events prior to the event.

• A. Inability to form new memories after the event
• B. Loss of memory for events prior to the event
• C. Inability to recall procedural memory
• D. Difficulty with attention

Answer: (B)

Retrograde amnesia is memory loss for events prior to the incident. This is why the description of losing memories for events before the event is the correct one. In contrast, the inability to form new memories after the event points to anterograde amnesia, not retrograde. A problem with procedural memory refers to skills and habits and is not the same as recalling past events, so it doesn’t define retrograde amnesia. Difficulty with attention isn’t amnesia at all; it affects encoding or processing but doesn’t specify loss of past memories.