The gravity of memory problems is often disguised by their risibility. Someone in the throes of aphasia or agnosia, that is, someone whose perception functions properly, but whose processing does not, can unintentionally crack up a room full of trained specialists. Cases like these, replete with malapropisms and verbal absurdities, are more bizarre than scary. Transient amnesias in particular may last a few hours, almost always less than a day. Any number of things can trigger an episode, or nothing at all. Sometimes a heightened emotional experience, even sex, can set one off.
