I have been sent a link to a news article from Spiegel Online International about a man with no short-term memory. This topic, which has been explored in various different ways in the movies "Memento" and "50 First Dates", is a very real phenomena indeed. Amnesia, as defined by dictionary.com, indicates the loss of a large block of interrelated memories as well as a complete or partial loss of memory caused by brain injury, shock, etc.. Anyone who has ever seen a daytime soap opera is, I believe, very aware of what an amnesiac is supposed to go through while coping with large losses of memory. Unlike these soap operas, Mr. Clive Wearing out of Britain is not suppressing a serial killer visage or that he is his own evil stepson!
According to the article, Mr. Wearing used to be a music producer for the BBC as well as choirmaster for the London Sinfonietta ensemble, but for the past 20 years he continuously comes out of a fog feeling that he has been unconscious but never knowing quite how long. It is difficult for people to imagine this because our memory is so incredibly integral to everything we do in this world. Just imagine it for a second: you wake up one morning and have no idea of anything. You get out of bed, because you can still seemingly figure out your motor reflexes, but after that, what? What do you do? I could conceivably go on and on and on about this because the possibilities are quite literally endless, but I think you get the idea.
I do not hold a degree in neuro-science, so I cannot speculate here on the nature and proclivities of amnesiacs. The following links should explain more than I ever could about Amnesia and its effects.
Wikipedia
Amnesia and Memory Loss
Neuropsychological Generation of Source Amnesia: An Episodic Memory Disorder of the Frontal Brain
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