Case Study of Brain-Damaged Patients Flashcards
What surgery did HM have?
Surgery in 1953 at age 26 to remove the medial temporal lobe on both sides of his brain in an attempt to treat his severe epilepsy
Following the surgery what happened to HM?
HM had amnesia and was unable to form any new long-term memories
He still had procedural skills and could learn new skills
What was it believed caused HM memory difficulties?
The removal of the medial temporal lobe (MTL)
What is within the MTL (medial temporal lobe)?
Within the MTL is the hippocampus
What is the hippocampus widely thought to relate to?
Widely thought to relate to short-term memory and moving information from short-term to long-term memory
How long was HM studied for and by how many people?
HM was studied for 55 years and by around 100 different people
How was qualitative data gathered from HM?
Researchers talked to him about his episodic memories and he could recall details of the stock market crash in 1929 which occurred before his surgery
Researchers could discuss his procedural skills and his long-term memories
What is not ethical to do in case studies looking into how memory works?
Deliberate damage to the memory system/brains of human participants is not ethical
Avoid ethical issues and invasive investigation
What kind of data does neuroimaging techniques provide?
Provide objective data in the form of carefully controlled measurements in an experimental setting
Why can it not be assumed that the damage to the brain is the only factor resulting in difficulties with processing information?
There might be other issues that cause difficulties with the processing of information
Why might conclusions made about memory processes may not be accurate using neuroimaging techniques?
Neuroimaging techniques might not be sensitive enough to pick up smaller sites of damage such as in the case of mild traumatic brain injury
