#DORY FINDING NEMO FISH MOVIE#

When faced with difficult moments and challenges, she reminds herself (and at times, Marlin) to “just keep swimming,” a mantra that has become one of the best-known catchphrases of the film.

In humans, anterograde amnesia is most associated with anterior temporal damage, particularly to a structure called the hippocampus (Zillmer, Spiers, & Culbertson, 2008) In younger people anterograde amnesia is usually caused by brain trauma due to head injury.ĭespite her impairment and the setbacks it creates, Dory remains optimistic, positive, and persistent, not allowing her amnesia to hinder her ability to successfully reach her goals. Although little is known about the origin of Dory’s amnesia, she says it runs her family, perhaps making this a nod to the notion of “goldfish memory”.

Dory describes her condition as “short-term memory loss” which is the way most people refer to the problem of encoding new information that is the hallmark of anterograde amnesia. These problems in encoding new information are hallmarks of anterograde amnesia. Repetition-for example, that of the address for their Australian destination-is helpful when she is able to keep her attention on the task, but as soon as her concentration is broken, the rehearsed information is lost. Moreover, Dory has difficulty remembering specific navigational directions, let alone knowing what she’s doing and why she’s doing it. She has trouble learning names (particularly Nemo’s), learning and retaining new information, and even remembering the fact that she was engaged in conversation just minutes before. It is throughout this journey that Dory’s memory impairment reveals itself in various instances. Despite this dilemma, Marlin and Dory team up and set out on a journey to find Nemo. However, after swimming a few minutes, Dory completely forgets who Marlin is and why he has been following her and it quickly becomes apparent that Dory suffers from anterograde amnesia, or a problem in learning new information. Dory recalls seeing the boat and, after a short exchange, agrees to show Marlin the way it went.

#DORY FINDING NEMO FISH MOVIE#

Praised for being one of the few accurate portrayals of neurological amnesia in a theatrical movie (Baxendale, 2004), Finding Nemo brings to light the idea of positivity and social support-be it family, friends, or both-and its beneficial effect on memory ability in amnesic individuals.ĭory, a Regal Blue Tang fish, is introduced to the movie plot when she literally bumps into Marlin, a clown fish who is frantically chasing after a boat of scuba divers who have just captured his son, Nemo. Just another well-crafted and fun animated film for children on the outside, a more in-depth examination of the film uncovers a deeper neuropsychological layer hidden within one of its main characters, Dory.

Dory finding nemo fish