Amnesia caused by head trauma is most closely associated with damage to which brain region?

• A. Cerebral cortex
• B. Cerebellum
• C. Brainstem
• D. Hypothalamus

Answer: (A)

Memory processing relies on brain regions involved in encoding, storing, and retrieving information, with the cerebral cortex playing a key role in conscious memories. When head trauma damages this region and nearby temporal lobe structures that support memory formation, it disrupts the ability to form new memories (anterograde amnesia) and/or recall past experiences (retrograde amnesia). That’s why injury to the cortex is most closely linked to amnesia.

The cerebellum governs procedural and motor memory rather than conscious episodic memory; the brainstem controls vital life-sustaining functions; and the hypothalamus regulates hormones and drives, not memory storage.