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The Bourne Identity

3/6/2013

 
Picture
 A spy suffers identity loss and must use his skills to follow the clues leading back to his clandestine past.

 Jason Bourne is pulled from the sea by a passing fishing vessel, with no knowledge of who he is, or how he came to drift alone in open water.  The bullets in his back and the bank code embedded in his hip are the only bits of information to survive his identity loss.  Bourne must evade his pursuers, while slowly piecing together what few clues he can find that help uncover memories of his secret life as a government assassin.




Neuropsychological Review

An action packed "Who Am I?"
Joesph Hengoed

“Who am I?
”- Jason Bourne
Jason Bourne, trained CIA assassin, is found floating in the Mediterranean Sea with two bullets in his back and no memory of who he is or where he came from.  Jason is experiencing a complete loss of identity and complete retrograde amnesia, or the loss of his memories before the accident.   Jason’s amnesia may be due to

 a traumatic brain injury (TBI) which in his case was potentially caused by his near drowning experience and lack of oxygen to the brain (hypoxia) (Cruz, 2010).  Retrograde amnesias are usually temporally graded, meaning that newer memories may be more vulnerable to loss than are older memories (Lezak et al., 2012).  The extent of memory loss with regards to temporal gradation has been linked to the extent of damage to the medial temporal lobes (MTL) including the hippocampus which is important for memory consolidation (Nadel & Moscovitch, 1997).  In Jason Bourne’s case where he has no recollection of any of his past history and his amnesia seems to extend from his accident all the way until birth can be labeled as severe. 

 “How could I forget about you?  You’re the only person I know.” – Jason Bourne.  
 Although cinematically popular for the main character to lose his memories via retrograde amnesia, this is not what usually happens in actual cases of brain damage (Baxendale, 2004).  The most common form of amnesia after a traumatic brain injury is anterograde amnesia, which is the inability to form new memories.  In severe cases of retrograde amnesia such as Jason Bourne’s, where his memory loss extends decades, there is usually an accompaniment of equally strong presence of anterograde amnesia (Lezak et al., 2012). 

Statistically speaking, Jason’s accident should have caused him anterograde amnesia with the possibility of a less severe temporally graded retrograde amnesia.  Yet, it is not impossible to experience retrograde amnesia alone as in Jason Bourne’s case, and it is referred to as focal or isolated retrograde amnesia.  Interestingly, damage to the medial temporal lobes, which is associated with anterograde amnesia is not associated with isolated retrograde amnesia.  Multiple damage sites including the anterior temporal lobes, frontal lobes, and posterior regions (Levine et al., 1998) are related to retrograde amnesia.  Because Jason was able to form new memories of the places he’d been  and the new people he had met (either his new love interest Marie or other agents out get him), Jason shows the traits of isolated retrograde amnesia without any anterograde impairments.  However, even with severe retrograde amnesia for events of one’s life, losing identity would not be expected.

“The knots like everything else, I just found the rope and I did it.  The same way I can, I can read, I can write. I can add, subtract.  I can make coffee.  I can shuffle cards.”- Jason Bourne.

 An interestingly component of Jason’s memory impairment is that previously learned general knowledge and his procedural memory are still intact.  Procedural memory is the “how to” of performing either physical or cognitive tasks.  Just like riding a bike, Jason Bourne finds that he can do things without any recollection of learning.  Jason finds that he can speak foreign languages fluently, perform advanced martial arts, and other traits that an assassin would have but he has no recollection of learning any of these skills.  This is in line with what would be expected with any type of amnesia.  Old learned skills memories have been shown to remain intact in individuals with retrograde amnesia (Ewert et al., 1989).  Also new procedural skills can be learned.

Overall, this action packed thriller is extremely entertaining,and Jason’s amnesia only plays a minor role in supplementing the exciting car chases and awesome fight scenes.  In  clichéd style, Jason’s amnesia is  portrayed as complete identity loss and consists solely of retrograde amnesia. In the rare cases of loss of identity, these are associated with  psychogenic disorders related to sever emotional trauma rather than  neurologic disorders.  If Jason suffered a physically brain injury related to hitting his head after being shot  (although the movie doesn’t make this explicit), it would have been uncommon for Jason to solely have retrograde amnesia and not have any anterograde impairments.  As an educational tool, The Bourne Identity could be used to introduce the basic neuropsychological concept of amnesia to students as well as to give a typical example of how neurologic amnesia is misportrayed.

           

References

Baxendale, S.  (2004).  Memories aren’t made of this:  Amnesia at the movies.  BMJ:  British Medical Journal, 329, 1480-1483.

Cruz, R.  (2010).  Traumatic brain injury.  Oxford American Handbook of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 321. 

Ewert, J., Levin, H. S., Watson, M. G., & Kalisky, Z. (1989).  Procedural memory during posttraumatic amnesia in survivors of severe closed head injury:  Implications for rehabilation.  Archives of Neurology, 46(8), 911. 

Levine, B., Black, S. E., Cabeza, R., Sinden, M., McIntosh, A. R., Toth, J. P…& Stuss, D. T.  (1998).  Episodic memory and the self in a case of isolated retrograde amnesia.  Brain, 121(10), 1951-1973.

Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., Bigler, E. D., & Tranel, D.  (2012).  Neuropsychological assessment.  New York: Oxyford University Press, Inc.

Nadel, L., & Moscovitch, M.  (1997). Memory consolidation, retrograde amnesia, and the hippocampal complex.  Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 7(2), 217-227.  

Vikas Shah
11/24/2013 03:06:08 pm

The Bourne Identity is probably one of my favorite spy movies of all time. Of course as a Psychology major I know for a fact that it is far from correctly portraying retrograde amnesia. However, we must also realize that the disorder of retrograde amnesia was definitely not meant to comprise the entirety of the movie, it was simply meant to be a reason for the movie to exist. Of course Hollywood is known for exaggerating and overly dramatizing things, so why should this movie be different? I still believe that this review is very well written. The author did a great job of combining evidence from the movie and properly cited information to determine whether the events that unfolded in the movie really should have caused retrograde amnesia. The author literally dissected the movie’s portrayal of the disorder and proved it to fall short in almost every area. The only thing that the author failed to consider, in my perspective, is that maybe his loss of identity was not because of his retrograde amnesia but his fugue amnesia. Some further research on whether or not patients can have both retrograde amnesia and fugue amnesia would make things clearer. But still, overall, a very well written review, and although they completely messed up the portrayal of retrograde amnesia, I still love the movie

mark nowak
9/21/2015 07:59:06 pm

this is based on the medical condition first documented (1887) with Ansel Bourne. And the last living relative to Ansel Bourne is living in buffalo, NY and has many stories and the family bible to share. Contact me for more information

Mary Spiers
9/22/2015 05:25:49 am

Hi Mark,
I'm very interested in cases behind the movies. I'd be very interested in hearing about this. I'm at [email protected]

Gordon Graham
10/19/2015 07:02:21 pm

The effects of the Treadstone program of which Jason Bourne was a participant, which included a drug(s) component the side effects of which are unknown, should not be disregarded. There were possibly other components of his "training" that could be relevant in assessing his state of amnesia. Remember the other Treadstone operative mentioned the headaches. So anlyzing Bourne's amnesia from a "normal" cause & effect perspective, is not as relevant nor interesting as discussion the possible cognitive elements involved which could accout for the state of this particularly unique amnesiac.

Bronze
10/29/2015 08:28:51 pm

Fantastic article. Very informative. Explains everything I needed to know without being too wordy.

Sophia
12/7/2015 08:36:31 am

The review of Bourne Identity is enlightening because it highlights the scientific inaccuracies that make the film cinematically more pleasing. In reality, after a traumatic brain injury, it is most common for patients to experience anterograde amnesia, the inability to form new memories. In addition, if a patient did in fact experience such severe retrograde amnesia, this would likely be accompanied by severe anterograde amnesia as well. Bourne’s character experiences severe retrograde amnesia, unable to remember anything from several decades before but this is isolated as he seems to exhibit no anterograde impairments. In reality, Bourne’s accident should have caused him anterograde amnesia with the possibility of less severe retrograde amnesia.

Anthony R. Liccardi (DU) link
2/10/2016 08:47:47 pm

First of all I'd like to say that this move is a great watch! It captivated my attention and I really enjoyed the film, psychologically, and as an action-thriller itself.

Jason Bourne, as in reviews written above, has succumbed retrograde amnesia after a traumatic brain injury. This means that Bourne was unable to remember anything that happened to him before the accident, including his own identity, however, he is able to form memories after the accident.

The accident that caused Bourne to undergo retrograde amnesia was his near-death drowning event, causing Bourne to become hypoxic (his cells did not have enough oxygen to maintain homeostasis), and therefore cutting his brain off from oxygen and damaging healthy brain tissue (Zivin 1).

Retrograde amnesia affects more than just the hippocampus, it can affect memory bearing areas of the brain like the temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex (Human-Memory 1). That being said, it is unlikely that Jason would be unable to form new memories after an injury like this, and therefore like the original reviewer claimed, Jason has isolated retrograde amnesia; Jason does not have any symptoms of anterograde amnesia.

Overall, this movie was awesome!

Sources: Zivin JA. Approach to cerebrovascular diseases. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman's Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2011:chap 413.

http://www.human-memory.net/disorders_retrograde.html

Anh Pham
2/15/2016 08:19:58 pm

I really like the movie “The Bourne Identity”; thus I find it very interesting to get a deeper understanding of the psychological aspect of the movie. Usually in a brain injury, episodic memory is more adversely affected than semantic memory, meaning that people with retrograde amnesia are likely to lose memories related to their autobiography rather than those related to general knowledge (Human Memory). However, as the review has noted, “even with severe retrograde amnesia for events of one’s life, losing identity would not be expected” (Hengoed). People with such serious amnesia, unlike Jason Bourne – whose “previously learned general knowledge and procedural memory are still intact”, would also be left with significant cognitive deficits, causing difficulties in perception and learning (Psychological Science). This depends on the “nature, location and laterality of the trauma” (Joseph). Specifically, while injuries in left hemisphere may lead to misconception in public facts, as well as problems in reading, writing, and even speaking, damages in the right hemisphere cause issues regarding personal and emotional memories. For example, according to Wikipedia, a patient with retrograde amnesia reported confusion of time and place, and had to relearn some previously known activities such as using a razor, whereas another patient was perplexed about social norms such as wearing appropriate clothes outside his house (Wikipedia).

By and large, this well written movie review gives me a chance to think critically of amnesia, helps me correct my misunderstanding of the subject, and make me interested more in learning psychology.

References

“Retrograde Amnesia”. human-memory.net. The Human Memory. n.d. n.p. United States. Web.
Hengoed, Joesph. “An action packed “Who Am I?””.neuropsyfi.com. NeuroPsyFi. United States. Web. March 6. 2013.
“Myth #14: Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives”. psychologicalscience.org. Association for Psychological Science. n.d. n.p. United States. Web
Joseph, Grabiel. “Anterograde & Retrograde Amnesia”. brainmind.com. Neuro Science. n.d. United States. Web.
“Retrograde Amnesia”. wikipedia.com. Wikipedia. n.d. n.p. United States. Web. October 12. 2007.

Andrew Keenan
3/4/2016 08:13:09 am

The Bourne Identity is a cinematic masterpiece which manages to captivate its audience with intense car chases, epic hand to hand combat, and a backstory which proves to be the driving force behind the whole move. Identity loss, amnesia, and similarly related dementia is something that most people have some relation to. The difference here, is that most people don’t usually have experience with ex-assassins suffering from these problems. In my opinion, the producers did an amazing job of getting most of the facts about the amnesia Jason suffers from correct. To the everyday person who does not have a vast amount of knowledge in this, it may seem that all of the symptoms that Jason has are text book identity loss. However, upon further investigation it could be said that Jason’s form of amnesia is a case of retrograde amnesia due to his accident. If the producers had been sticking to the book, Jason would have demonstrated more symptoms of anterograde amnesia as a result of the physical trauma caused by the accident which kids off the movie. Once again, this was all a basic strategy to get people in the doors of the theater; get it close enough to get the point across. While some of the facts of this movie from the technical side may be off, it is still nevertheless a great movie.

daniel nagrudny
3/6/2016 08:16:02 pm

Retrograde Amnesia has been a highly debated condition that has caught psychologists and clinicians into a whirlwind mystery. Similar to the Jason Bourne movie Bourne Identity, Retrograde Amnesia is described as affected both fact(semantic) memory and autobiographical(episodic) memory (www.neurosci.org/content/18/10/3943). However, the difference between most Retrograde Amnesia patients have recent memory loss while Jason experienced complete memory loss and even forgot his identity. However, Jason is able to tap into his memory slowly as the movie progresses. This touches upon a subject that other reviewers have not touched upon that we discussed in class: implicit and explicit memory. “People suffering from amnesia can learn how to do something (implicit memory) without any knowledge of this learning (explicit memory) (Module 26 PRF Forgetting, memory construction and improving memory).” It seems like most of the movie Jason is learning from his implicit memory and getting flashbacks since his explicit memory is completely erased. The only reason why he can remember some portions as the movie progresses is due to the idea that we have two distinct memory systems controlled by different parts of the brain.

Mike Hart
3/6/2016 08:47:00 pm

"The Bourne Identity" is an interesting movie, as it strikes the balance between a clever story and good action scenes. The plot involves the loss of any memory prior to the point where Jason Bourne is pulled out of the water by a boat in the beginning of the movie. Subsequently, he tries to regain his memory and understand who he is. His so called retrograde amnesia, the loss of memory up to a traumatic event (being shot and nearly drowning in this case) is very severe, however, as it is typical for this kind of amnesia, he does not lose his ability to fight or speak foreign languages (Reed and Squire 1998). In other words, all the skills he has learned before remain intact, as does his ability to form new memories, an area which is often impaired as well after a traumatic experience. The review highlights this as a common misrepresentation of amnesia in movies.
What is interesting as well is the fact that he is able to recall the events that led up to him being shot after he is told about them by one of the agents towards the end of the movie.

Source: Retrograde Amnesia for Facts and Events, by J. Reed and L Squire (1998) at http://www.jneurosci.org/content/18/10/3943.full

Greg Toci
4/10/2017 08:20:24 am

The Bourne Identity is a film about a U.S. government superagent, Jason Bourne (played by Matt Damon), who suffers from amnesia. He attempts to piece his life together while running from the U.S. government throughout Europe as they try to kill him because he is too powerful and knows too much. It is thought that the name of Bourne was selected because of Ansel Bourne, who was a famous case of amnesia. Ansel woke up one morning and forgot the previous two months of his life. Jason Bourne is a more extreme case who forgets everything about his life, including his name, entire past, and interests. However, he still retains his incredible talents that make him a U.S. superagent, which includes his skills in combat and covert operations and his ability to speak numerous languages fluently.

I learned about amnesia from this film. Amnesia can occur following a traumatic event or out of nowhere, and what the person remembers varies on a case by case basis. Furthermore, it may take a while for a person to regain their memories, if they do at all.

The Bourne Identity succeeds as a film because of its cinematography and storytelling. With regards to cinematography, shaky cam is used to give an anxious and “on-the-run” feel to the entire movie. With regards to storytelling, we are shown both sides of the chase, which includes Bourne’s story and the U.S. government’s attempt to stop him. Lastly, I believe this film succeeds because it is a perfect blend of the psychological thriller and action genres.

Lazare Ki-Zerbo
1/16/2021 06:00:22 pm

Bourne drowning can be compared to Descartes own formulation in the beginning of the 2nd meditation.Descartes also wants to answer the same old question : who am I? Who are we?


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