Amnesia Assessment Essay

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Here are two case studies which show how brain damage affects memory and forgetting. The case of HM: HM was a patient who suffered from severe epilepsy. When he was 27 years old he underwent surgery to relieve the epilepsy. During the procedure large parts of his temporal lobes were removed. This had a very large effect on his memory systems. After the operation, HM was unable to form new memories for facts or events. However, he showed only mild difficulty in recalling events from around 11 or so years before the operation, and could remember virtually everything from 16 or more years before the operation. Eventhough he had severe difficulty transferring information to his long-term memory, his short-term memory was virtually normal. Question: Does the above case study support the multi-store model of memory? If so, how? The case of Clive Wearing: In 1985, Clive Wearing contracted a virus that normally causes cold sores (a type of herpes virus). However, instead of it forming a cold sore it attacked his brain (around the temporal lobes and in particular a region called the hippocampus) causing damage. Since then he has not been able to form new memories. The area of the brain that had been damaged meant he could not transfer information to LTM. As a result of this, it has been argued that in effect it restarts his memory system every 18 seconds (the length of time his short-term memory lasts for). He only remembers fragments of his life prior to 1985 – he knows he has children from a previous marriage but cannot name them. He shows no loss of affection for his wife though, and he greets her joyously every time he sees her as if he hasn’t seen her in years. Only thing that is amazing about Clive is that prior to the virus he was a well-known pianist and conductor. He still has both of those skills because the part of his brain responsible
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