Amnesia

1. Amnesia • Loss of memory ability - usually due to lesion or surgical removal of various parts of the brain

2. Causes of Amnesia • Concussion • Migraines • Hypoglycemia • Epilepsy • Electroconvulsive shock therapy • Specific brain lesions (i.e. surgical removal) • Ischemic events • Drugs (esp. anesthetics) • Infection • Psychological • Nutritional deficiency • Lack of Sleep!

3. Amnesia • Loss of memory ability - usually due to lesion or surgical removal of various parts of the brain • Two broad categories: • Retrograde: loss of memories for events prior to damage

4. Amnesia • Loss of memory ability - usually due to lesion or surgical removal of various parts of the brain • Two broad categories: • Retrograde: loss of memories for events prior to damage • Anterograde: loss of ability to store new memories of events after damage

5. Amnesia Retrograde Amnesia Anterograde Amnesia

6. Amnesia • Short-term and sensory memory are typically functional

7. Korsakoff’s Syndrome The Lost Mariner - What happened to Jimmie? What was his life like?

8. Korsakoff’s Syndrome (The Lost Mariner) • Lesions to Medial Thalamus • Results from chronic alcoholism and consequent thiamine deficiency

9. Korsakoff’s Syndrome (The Lost Mariner) • Lesions to Medial Thalamus • Results from chronic alcoholism and consequent thiamine deficiency • Severe anterograde amnesia

10. Korsakoff’s Syndrome (The Lost Mariner) • Lesions to Medial Thalamus • Results from chronic alcoholism and consequent thiamine deficiency • Severe anterograde amnesia • Severe retrograde amnesia extending years before damage

11. Korsakoff’s Syndrome (The Lost Mariner) • Lesions to Medial Thalamus • Results from chronic alcoholism and consequent thiamine deficiency • Severe anterograde amnesia • Severe retrograde amnesia extending years before damage • Confabulation - make up stories to explain absence of memory

12. Korsakoff’s Syndrome (The Lost Mariner) • Lesions to Medial Thalamus • Results from chronic alcoholism and consequent thiamine deficiency • Severe anterograde amnesia • Severe retrograde amnesia extending years before damage • Confabulation - make up stories to explain absence of memory • Often unaware of their deficit

13. H. M. • Patient H. M. - suffered from extreme epilepsy 1926-2008 Henry Gustav Molaison

14. H. M. • Patient H. M. - bilateral resection of medial temporal lobes (containing hippocampus) • William Beecher Scoville and Brenda Milner - late 1950’s

15. H. M. • Patient H. M. - bilateral resection of medial temporal lobes (containing hippocampus) • William Beecher Scoville and Brenda Milner - late 1950’s • Severe anterograde amnesia

16. H. M. • Patient H. M. - bilateral resection of medial temporal lobes (containing hippocampus) • William Beecher Scoville and Brenda Milner - late 1950’s • Severe anterograde amnesia • Retrograde amnesia for 1 - 3 years before surgery

17. H. M.

18. H. M. • Some aspects of memory were spared (at least to some extent)

19. H. M. • Some aspects of memory were spared (at least to some extent) • Procedural memory was largely unaffected - amnesia was largely restricted to episodic memory

20. Mirror Writing

21. H. M. • Some aspects of memory were spared (at least to some extent) • Procedural memory was largely unaffected - amnesia was largely restricted to episodic memory • Some implicit awareness of recent events

22. H. M. • Some aspects of memory were spared (at least to some extent) • Procedural memory was largely unaffected - amnesia was largely restricted to episodic memory • Some implicit awareness of recent events • Normal digit span (short-term memory) !

23. Everyone experiences memory loss with aging Decline in temporal lobe size with age

24. Everyone experiences memory loss with aging • What can you do? • Minimize stress • Proper nutrition (eat your veggies) • Healthy lifestyle (exercise and sleep) • Keep using your brain • Protect your brain from injury

25. Hypermnesia - S. • “Photographic” extreme memory ability (a mnemonist)

26. Hypermnesia - S. • “Photographic” extreme memory ability (a mnemonist) • Able to recall complex test stimuli

27. Hypermnesia - S. • S. used two “strategies” or abilities typical of mnemonists: • Rich synesthesia-like quality to his perception of stimuli - leads to stronger associative links

28. Hypermnesia - S. • S. used two “strategies” or abilities typical of mnemonists: • Rich synesthesia-like quality to his perception of stimuli - leads to stronger associative links • Vivid and elaborate mental imagery of things he should remember

29. Hypermnesia - S. • “ Even numbers remind me of images. Take the number 1. This is a proud, well-built man; 2 is a high-spirited woman; 3 a gloomy person (shy, I don’t Know); 6 a man with a swollen foot...” Luria, A.R. The mind of a mnemonist. 1968 Luria, A.R. The man with a shattered world. 1972

30. Long-term Memory • What do you think the brain of someone that has this “super memory” would look like?

31. Long-term Memory • What if I told you it looked like this? Kim Peek

32. Long-term Memory • Kim Peek was the inspiration for the character Raymond Babbit in Rain Man • The real Kim Peek probably wasn’t autistic but he did have severe developemental and social deficits

33. Long-term Memory • The moral of the story of Kim Peek is that there is still much to learn regarding the psychology and neuroscience of long-term memory

34. Next Time Awareness and Your Brain