ETHICS- the brain and behavior Flashcards
HM study
HM fell off his bicycle when he was aged 7 and sustained a serious head injury. Epileptic attacks began when he was 10. At the age of 27 he had become so incapacitated by his seizures that he could not lead a normal life and medication did not help him. With the approval of the patient and his family, the neurosurgeon William Scoville performed an experimental surgery where he removed tissue from the medial temporal lobe (including the hippocampus) on both sides of HM’s brain.
HM had suffered from amnesia after surgery whrere tissue from hsi medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus was removed from both sides of his brian, and couldnt form new episodic and semantic memories, but was able to learn a few procedural memories. His personality didnt change and there was no intellectual impairment
This study showed how the hippocmapus is important in memory processing and particualry in the storage of new memories.
It seems that the hippocampus and the areas around it play an important role in converting memories of expereinces from short term memory to long term memroy
. HM could retain memories of what happened before the srugery that led to his amnesia. Thsi indicates that the hippocampus is a temporary rather than premanent store
Hm learnt a few new procedural memories- suggests memories not stored via hippocampus
HM (and other ppl w amnesia) had deficits in one part of the memory system but not in others- suggests brain has several memory systems and that these are supported by distinct brain regions
Study suggests memory process more complex than we thought. Even tho hippocampus is mportant in storage of new memories, its not the only structure involved
Ethics issue w HM
ETHICS ISSUES
Informed consent:
Participation in a study must be voluntary
Ppt mus fully udnderstand the nature of their involvement, including aims of the study, tasks theyll be exposed to, and how data will be used
Researchers should provide as much info as possible
Consent was given by HM’s mother, then later by his caretakers
But there was still a concern about HM being taken advantage of his right to withdraw as well, as he either couldnt understand what was happening or he forgot
There was continual testing of HM for over 40 years
During the studies, psychologists used all sorts of stimuli (including electric shocks and white noise). HM rarely complained about anything
He didnt even know what was being done to him or who was doing it
His brain is now kept for science
Infomred consent- HM, case studies
HM cant give informed consent to the case study
If he is unable to do this, the researchers should take additional safeguards to protect the welfare and dignity of HM
If real consent cant be obtained, they should consult a person such as a family member, who can give consent.
When dealing w ppt who cant ive consent, particular care should be taken over informed consent, paying attention to special circumstances that may affect ppt’s ability to give free informed consent
However, lots of ppt cant give informed consent
