Memory loss is sometimes referred to by various terms including amnesia, forgetting, memory decay, memory decline, or memory impairment. This may be indicators of accompanying disease such as dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s that may be responsible for the memory loss.

Pathology/lesions in a diversity of brain regions and systems have been associated with memory loss, and in particular, damage to the brain's temporal lobes and a part of the brain known as the hippocampus.

Loss of memory may be limited to the inability to recall recent events, events from the distant past, or a combination of both. Symptoms of memory loss vary from person to person, but can include:

• Forgetting dates and names
• Beginning a task but then forgetting the purpose of it
• Getting lost easily
• Repeating things over and over again, sometimes in the same conversation 
• Difficulties in performing familiar tasks such as driving or baking.

They usually occur gradually and may vary in intensity depending on the cause of the condition.

Loss of memory is an abnormal degree of forgetfulness and/or inability to recall past events. Depending on the cause, memory loss may have either a sudden or gradual onset.

Although the normal aging process can result in difficulty in learning and retaining new material, normal aging itself is not a cause of significant memory loss unless there is accompanying disease that is responsible for the memory loss.