Represse memory is a significant memory, usually of a traumatic nature, that has become unavailable for recall. The term is used to describe memories that have been dissociated from awareness as well as those that have been repressed without dissociation. Although much debate exists in the media and public arena on the topic of repressed memories, studies consistently demonstrate that amnesia can occur in survivors of trauma. Repressed memories may sometimes be recovered years or decades after the event, most often spontaneously, triggered by a particular smell, taste, or other identifier related to the lost memory, or via suggestion during psychotherapy.