Recent memories may be destroyed first by a brain pathology.
After many years of drinking American diet colas, and fast foods, our English speaking Russian child (now an adult) could actually have a serious stroke.
It ’s not uncommon for strokes to wipe away the most recently acquired knowledge.
So after his recovery in the hospital, much to the amazement of everyone including himself he may lose the ability to speak English, but find himself speaking in Russian??! How can this be? Trace inhibition suggests that nothing is lost from Long-term memory, but is obliterated by new experiences.
It works more noticeably in daily living. Taking classes back-to-back, for example, not only creates fatigue but triggers an inhibition process in Long-term memory.
The result is a decreased ability to recall the learned material in both classes!