Memory Loss L1 T3 EF

Many people claim to have a bad memory, and it’s true that we have trouble at times remembering where we put our house keys or recalling the names of people we’ve recently met. But more serious memory problems, including memory loss over time or memory loss due to injury, disease, or surgery.

Many people experience memory loss as they age. In the past, neuroscientists—doctors who study the brain—had theories about how the brain contained only a certain number of cells and how, over time, these cells might get used up. Also, there is now evidence that damage to the hippocampus—an area of the brain thought to be important in the process of recalling information—may play an important role in memory loss.
Two very special patients have helped doctors study memory and the hippocampus in recent years. These two men are referred to only as EP and HM, and each of them suffered memory loss after the loss of this particular section of the brain. HM suffered a head injury as a child and later underwent experimental brain surgery to remove most of his hippocampus.

Multiple Choice

What is one common example of minor memory problems mentioned in the text?

• a) Forgetting how to drive a car

• b) Misplacing house keys

• c) Losing the ability to speak

• d) Forgetting childhood memories

Multiple Choice

What was one past theory about brain cells and memory?

• a) The brain continually creates new cells throughout life

• b) Brain cells can regenerate if damaged

• c) The brain contains only a limited number of cells that may get used up over time

• d) Memory is stored in the spinal cord rather than the brain

Multiple Choice

What part of the brain is mentioned as being important for memory recall?

• a) Cerebellum

• b) Frontal lobe

• c) Hippocampus

• d) Brainstem

Through HM, who has been studied much longer than EP, researchers have learned about different memory abilities. Scientists found that he was able to learn complicated tasks without even realizing it. Each time HM did the task, he claimed never to have tried it before.

Scientists generally classify memories into two categories: declarative and non-declarative. Declarative memories are things you know you remember, like the color of your car or what happened yesterday afternoon. EP and HM have lost the ability to make new declarative memories. Non-declarative memories are the things you know without consciously doing them, like how to ride a bike or how to walk from your bed to your bathroom. They happen in completely different parts of the brain. As EP and HM so strikingly demonstrate, you can damage one part of the brain and the rest will keep on working.

The exact process by which memories are coded and retrieved remains a mystery, but scientists and doctors are working to better understand the brain’s remarkable ability to store and recall information.

Multiple Choice

What did researchers learn from studying HM?

• a) He could not remember anything from his past

• b) He was able to learn complicated tasks without realizing it

• c) He could create new declarative memories

• ) He had a perfect memory despite his brain injury

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a declarative memory?
a) Knowing how to ride a bike
b) Remembering what you ate for breakfast
c) Walking without thinking about it
d) Automatically tying your shoes

• a) Knowing how to ride a bike

• b) Remembering what you ate for breakfast

• c) Walking without thinking about it

• d) Automatically tying your shoes

Multiple Choice

What type of memories did EP and HM lose the ability to create?

• a) Non-declarative memories

• b) Long-term childhood memories

• c) Declarative memories

• d) Sensory memories

Multiple Choice

What do scientists still not fully understand about memory?
a) How the hippocampus functions
b) The exact process by which memories are coded and retrieved
c) Why declarative memories fade faster than non-declarative memories
d) How brain damage affects all parts of the brain equally

• a) How the hippocampus functions

• b) The exact process by which memories are coded and retrieved

• c) Why declarative memories fade faster than non-declarative memories

• ) How brain damage affects all parts of the brain equally