Case Studies and HM

Question 1

what can a case study be of ?

Answer 1

one person or one group of people

Question 2

what type of data is usually collected ?

Answer 2

qualitative

Question 3

what is a case history (not a case study) ?

Answer 3

a record of the person’s (or group’s) previous experiences or behaviours - case studies often include a case history

Question 4

what are two positives of case studies ?

Answer 4

1) used to investigate rare behaviours (e.g. mental illness, or cases which could not be created in research labs, such as brain damage)
2) produces rich, in-depth data - a complex interaction of many factors can be studied (allows for triangulation) whereas in experiments, variables must be kept constant

Question 5

what are four negatives of case studies ?

Answer 5

1) difficult to generalise - case has unique characteristics and we can’t make before-and-after comparisons (phineas gage)
2) recollection of the past required - evidence may be unreliable because people’s memories are inaccurate
3) researchers may lack objectivity - they get to know their case, or because of their theoretical biases, they interpret the data less objectively
4) ethical issues - confidentially and anonymity are particularly important in relation to case studies

Question 6

when was the Phineas Gage case study and what was it?

Answer 6

1848 - a case of brain damage due to a metre-long tamping iron shot through his frontal lobe

Question 7

how did the accident appear to affect Gage ?

Answer 7

he survived seemed to function fairly normally - but the accident seemed to affect his personality

Question 8

how did Gage’s personality change ?

Answer 8

before, he was hard-working, responsible and popular - afterwards, he became restless and indecisive and swore a lot

Question 9

how was the case of Phineas Gage helpful ?

Answer 9

• helped the development of brain surgery to remove tumours because it showed the parts of the brain could be removed without being fatal
• it also showed that the frontal lobe is important in aspects of behaviour (e.g. conscientiousness)

Question 10

what is a limitation in Phineas Gage’s case study ?

Answer 10

there is doubt about the validity of the reports about Gage’s behaviour (the changes could have been temporary)

Question 11

when was HM born ?

Answer 11

1926

Question 12

give three facts about HM’s early life ?

Answer 12

1) had mild seizures from 7 (bicycle accident)
2) first major one on his 16th birthday
3) despite strong medication, his fits became worse so by 27 he was no longer able to work

Question 13

what psychosurgery did HM receive ?

Answer 13

Dr Scoville removed the hippocampus from both sides of his brain in 1953, it was not known what it did except that it was thought to be responsible for seizures

Question 14

what were the effects of the surgery (3) ?

Answer 14

• epilepsy appeared to be slightly better
• anterograde amnesia - some memories lost from 10 years prior to the operation
• retrograde amnesia - lost the ability to form new long-term memories

Question 15

what is an example of HM’s retrograde amnesia ?

Answer 15

HM would watch the news every night but could not recall major events - he didn’t remember his father had died (and mourned every time he was told)

Question 16

specific assessments - intelligence and personality ?

Answer 16

seemed unchanged, according to reports from childhood friends

Question 17

specific assessments - short-term (working) memory ?

Answer 17

about the same as control ppts but only up to 20 seconds (Richards 1973)

Question 18

specific assessments - procedural memory ?

Answer 18

intact, e.g. learned motor skills such as drawing by looking at a reflection in a mirror, but could not remember learning these new skills

Question 19

specific assessments - episodic memory ?

Answer 19

largely impaired though learned Suzanne Corkin’s last name but never recognised her

Question 20

specific assessments - semantic memory ?

Answer 20

severely affected but there were successes, e.g. cued retrieval of celebrities’ names

Question 21

what were the analysis of the brain (3) ?

Answer 21

1) not all hippocampus was damaged (MRI scans and post-mortem studies) which might explain some new episodic and semantic memories
2) other areas were damaged (e.g. structures near the hippocampus, parts of the frontal lobes - some deficits may not be due to hippocampus)
3) some of HM’s behavioural deficits may have been due to his epilepsy

Question 22

what can be concluded from HM’s case study ?

Answer 22

demonstrated the localised nature of brain functions and the role of the hippocampus in episodic/semantic memory (confirmed in many other studies)

Question 23

what were the ethical issues with HM’s study ?

Answer 23

1) consent - HM had no memory so he could not provide informed consent for the tests carried out on him
2) he never consented to his brain being preserved, nor were his closest relatives approached
3) however, there were benefits to society in understanding memory

Question 24

who was the main researcher for the HM case study ?

Answer 24

suzanne corkin

Question 25

what did suzzanne claim about HM ?

Answer 25

she claimed the study brought about ‘an epiphany in the science of memory’

Question 26

how is HM still studied today ?

Answer 26

HM continues to be studied because his brain was preserved and sliced into 2,401 sections to create an atlas (available on the internet).