Amnesiacs Flashcards
Outline HM’s Case Study
HM was suffering from extreme epilepsy from the age of 16. It was so extreme, his quality of life was terrible, and he would have multiple seizures a day. Because of this, his doctor decided that at age 27, he should have a new surgery, to stop his seizures. The surgeons removed his hippocampus in an attempt to do so. His epilepsy was cured but he was left with anterograde amnesia. He could remember anything before the surgery but was unable to form new memories after. His STM was normal, but he was either unable to transfer memory to the LTM, or he was unable to retrieve it.
Outline Clive Wearing’s Case Study.
After suffering from a rare strain of herpes, Clive Wearing was left with anterograde amnesia. Similarly to HM, he lived in a snapshot of time, constantly believing he had just woken up. He states continually ‘You’re the first person I’ve seen since I was ill’. He can still speak, walk and play the piano but his memory from his earlier life is extremely patchy.
