HM Milner Flashcards
What happened to HM
experienced a serious head injury at the age of 7 and developed epilesy
what parts were removed from HM
the medial temporal lobe, including ther hippocampus
What happens after parts of HM’s brain is removed
resulting in profound anterograde amnesia- a type of memory loss where new memories cannot be formed
What happens after HM’s surgery- what type of amnesia is it
anterograde amnesia: he struggled to form new memories post operation, often forgetting people and events shortly after encountering them
Although HM is unable to form new memories, what was he still capable of doing
he was still able to retain vivid recollections of his childhood and display limited retrograde amnesia
aim of the study
To better understand the effects that the surgery had on patient HM
what research method was used
triangulation
How was he examined (5 ways )
- he did a psychometric testing: IQ testing that shows that he was above average
- interviewed both HM and his family members
- cognitive testing: memory recall tests as well as learning task such as reverse mirror drawing
- MRI done to HM’s brain
- directly observing HM’s behaviour
What was HM able to remember
- his house and could draw the floor plan for his new home
Findings - What type of memory was HM unable to process/ encode
HM Milner
he was not able to acquire semantic and episodic knowledge
Was HM able to transfer memory from STM to LTM?
No. When he was asked to recall a number 884, he could remember it 15 minutes later by the mean sof constant rehearsal
However, when the task was over, he was unable to recall the number
What could HM still do
His procedural memories were still left intact as he was able to remember memories from long ago before the surgery.
What did the MRI reveal
Most damage done to his hippocampus
evidence that shows that his procedural knowledge was still left intact
He knew how to mow a lawn and also showed improvements of new skills
Conclusion in relation to the localisation of function
Shows that the hippocampus plays a vital role in ensuring that information can be transferred from the STM to the LTM
Hippocampus does not store memories
there are different stores of memory for procedural, emotional, skills etc.
The memory systems in the brain constitute of highlt specialised and complex system
Showing how each of these areas are related to different cognitive processes
difference between retrospective amnesia and anterograde amnesia
- retrospective: inability to recall past memories
- Anterograde amnesia: inability to form new memories
