I have felt like different medications caused different problems with the way my brain worked and with my memory. Very often I seemed to get used to the medication and then my brain would regain much of its prior functioning.

It's hard to know if depression itself is doing something to my brain.

Then there's also the question of what normal aging would be doing to my brain if I didn't have depression and medication issues to deal with.

I just try to notice how my brain is functioning, and if something isn't working the way I think it should and it's causing me a problem, I try to figure out a way to fix that. Sometimes it means a meds change. Other times things like not skipping meals or not allowing myself to multitask or keeping notes of what's going on in my life and what my goals are can help.

Getting enough sleep also seems to help, too. When I get overly tired, my brain pretty much turns into mush.

I suppose I'm trying to say that the things that medication has caused usually seem to be temporary and some of the other things seem to work well when I'm well-fed and well-rested.

Your description was good, btw. I don't know that I've ever had that particular experience. I usually seem to have a problem sometimes finding the right associations to lead me to the file. I can spend time wandering around in circles before I eventually find them (or sometimes, I don't find them.)