Mysterious cause of Taylor Swift concert amnesia phenomenon revealed in new study as attendees report ‘blacking out’

A NEW study is being conducted into the Taylor Swift amnesia issue that is haunting her fans.

An increasing number of reports from Swifties who are complaining about memory blackouts at concerts has led to renowned psychiatrist Dr. Nathan Carroll instigating a deep look into the phenomenon.

Dr. Nathan Carroll is taking a deep dive into why Taylor Swift fans are blacking out during her concertsCredit: Dr. Nathan Carroll

Taylor Swift’s performances have excited her fans so much, many suffer from a memory lapse called transient global amnesiaCredit: Getty
Devotees, like teacher Danielle Collins, have told The U.S. Sun how she had no recollection of the first hour of a show on the Eras tour in New Jersey and had to be told what happened by a friend weeks later.

Another attendee Lorin Munchick, who saw the sell-out show in Los Angeles last month with his family, admitted to being blown away by the atmosphere.

“I never had the same communal euphoria, even at huge sporting events,” he admitted.

Hearing stories like Danielle and Lorin’s piqued Dr. Carroll’s interest, and his findings so far have been fascinating.

Once his team began digging around for other examples of people forgetting large chunks of important events – concerts, weddings, birthday parties, big sporting occasions – they came across a neurological condition called transient global amnesia (TGA).

According to the National Institute of Health, TGA is “a temporary, anterograde amnesia with an acute onset that usually occurs in middle-aged and older individuals. It is often precipitated by particularly strenuous activity, high-stress events, or coitus, but it can be seen with migraines as well. ”

Dr. Carroll, whose two colleagues Dr. Soha Salman and Stephanie Crane complained of memory loss at a Taylor Swift show, says although TGA has been well studied, there is limited research on the effects it has on younger people at places like highly charged music events.

When a person experiences an episode, the excitement of being in attendance causes a surge of hormones – cortisone and adrenaline – which then play havoc with the brain’s ability to store memories for a short period of time.

“Your brain goes haywire,” Dr. Carroll told The U.S. Sun.

“But we tend to see it more with older people who are worried about their memory and it turning into something like dementia.”

The New Jersey-based specialist says the incident rate in younger people is “three in 100,000,” although the numbers will increase considerably in those who attend concerts or huge sporting events.

He also believes the condition affects women more than men, although the exact reasons are yet to be determined.

“I would think it’s due to particular sensitivity towards cortisol and adrenaline, but we aren’t entirely sure at this point,” he admitted.

In the report that is potentially being presented to the American Psychiatric Association conference later this year, Dr. Carroll, who is currently working at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center, writes: “In 2023, reports of widespread amnesia following the attendance of a Taylor Swift concert were reported in media from her fandom.

“This memory ‘Blank Space’ is a neurological phenomenon marked by time-limited, variable retrograde amnesia, dense anterograde amnesia, and consistent with transient global amnesia (TGA).

TGA is more likely to occur in older individuals. However, widespread reports identify this as happening in the younger concert-going population.

“With increased interest spurred on by mass media reports of amnesia, we felt it would be of clinical interest to complete a literature review.”

“Concert-goers may represent a particular environmental risk factor that transiently increases the incidence rate,” he continued.

“TGA is associated with periods of increased temperature, heightened emotion, arousal, activeness, and alertness, such as concerts, coitus, and weddings.

“A synergistic effect between Cortisol (CORT) and Norepinephrine (NE) has been noted to impact emotional episodic memory formation via amygdala-hippocampal interactions(4). Additionally, CORT increases have been linked to heightened emotion and increased body temperature.

“Ultimately, these reports and literature are consistent with an excitement-and-hormonally induced TGA. This literature review adds to our understanding of TGA and is of particular interest to psychiatrists treating younger individuals who may present with concerns of transient memory loss.

“Finally, to all of the Taylor Swift fans, despite their recent ‘Epiphany’ about lapses in their memory, we recommend that they ‘Shake it off’ and not be discouraged from attending future shows.”