What is the term for the inability to form new memories?

The term for the inability to form new memories is anterograde amnesia. This condition is characterized by the difficulty or inability to create new long-term memories following the onset of the condition. Individuals with anterograde amnesia can often remember events that occurred prior to the onset but struggle to remember information learned after that point. This distinction is crucial as it highlights the difference between the ability to recall past experiences and the challenges associated with assimilating new information.

In contrast, retrograde amnesia involves the loss of previously established memories, typically as a result of brain injury or trauma, affecting events that occurred before the onset of the condition. Short-term memory loss may refer to difficulties with holding information temporarily but does not explicitly address the broader inability to form new long-term memories. Long-term memory failure would be an ambiguous term that does not specifically indicate the ability to form new memories, thus making anterograde amnesia the most precise and correct answer in this context.