HM case study Flashcards
how old was HM when he contracted epilepsy
7
how
fell of his bike
who was the brain surgeon
william scoville
what was removed from henrys brain
temporal lobe including parts of the hippocampus and amygdala
what was HM’s case of amnesia called
severe anterograde amnesia
what was HM unable to do
form new memories
when did she publish her findings
1957 carried on testing 1962-1972
who was HM’s first resercher
brenda milner
when was HM’s surgery and how old was he
1953 and 27
what did she demonstrate
the exsistance of procedural memory
when did HM die and what happened to his brain
2008 age 82, brain removed and scanned sliced into 2401 pieces
what was the aim of the case study
To investigate the extent and nature of HMS memory defects and how they related to his brain damage.
Also to investigate the structure of memory Revealed in HM’s behaviour and understand the functions of the brain structures like the Hippocampus.
what were milners early tests based on
Simple recall tasks testing HM ‘s ability to recall events from his childhood and from his adult life before the operation and after
Short term and long term memory recall
IQ Personality and general knowledge
what later tasks did milner test
Maze tasks to trace the correct route through the maze with his finger. To see if HM would remember the route even if he didn’t remember having attempted the task.
Copying a 5 pointed star by drawing between the lines of a template through the reflection of a mirror and a reattempting the test many times to see if he became more skilled
other tests
Effect of reinforcement and punishment to see if mild electric shocks would help HM remember the correct answers
suzanne corkin
Used brain scanning technology to improve understanding of HM’s condition
Results of simple recall tasks
Remembered a lot of information before his 16th birthday he could Vaguely recall personal events like his father’s death which he was dimly aware of although he was unable to describe his work place but he could draw a detailed floor plan of his house
Results from his I Q and personality
His IQ got better after his surgery and his personality was normal except from his ability to Identify smell which was poor
Results of recall of public events after the operation
He identified the president on a half dollar and recognised that he had been assassinated
Results from the maze test
Over 252 attempts hm never showed any improvement in the maze task
results in the star tracing task
He started with 30 errors dropping to 20 and 10 by his 7th trial overall he got better.
Conclusion about the Hippocampus
Plays a vital role in transforming short term memories into long term memories as this was something that hm couldn’t do
What was the reason for H M ‘s poor ability to Identify smell
the Olfactory bulb which processes smell is close to the hippocampus
what’s the reason for HM ‘s poor response to pain and confusion over hunger and tiredness
Damage in his amygdala
