1. Prepared by Jeffrey W. Grimm Western Washington University
PowerPoint Presentation for Biopsychology, 9th Edition by John P.J. Pinel
Prepared by Jeffrey W. Grimm
Western Washington University
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2. How Your Brain Stores Information
Chapter 11
Learning, Memory,
and Amnesia
How Your Brain Stores Information
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3. Amnesic Effects of Bilateral Medial Temporal Lobectomy
H.M. was an epileptic who had his temporal lobes removed in 1953.
His seizures were dramatically reduced—but so was his long-term memory
H.M. experienced both mild retrograde amnesia and severe anterograde amnesia.
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FIGURE 11.1 Medial temporal lobectomy. The portions of the medial temporal lobes that were removed from H.M.’s brain are illustrated in a view of the inferior surface of the brain.
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5. Amnesic Effects of Bilateral Medial Temporal Lobectomy (Con’t)
Retrograde (backward-acting): unable to remember the past
Anterograde (forward-acting): unable to form new memories
While H.M. was unable to form most types of new long-term memories (LTM), his short-term memory (STM) was intact.
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Assessing H.M. (Con’t)
H.M. improved with practice on sensorimotor tasks (mirror drawing, rotary pursuit) and on a nonsensorimotor task (incomplete pictures)—all without recalling previous practice sessions.
H.M. readily learned responses through classical (Pavlovian) conditioning, but had no memory of the conditioning trials.
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7. Medial Temporal Lobe Amnesia
Not all patients with this form of amnesia are unable to form new explicit long-term memories.
Semantic memory (general information) may function normally while episodic memory (events that one has experienced) does not.
Medial temporal lobe amnesiacs may have trouble imagining future events.
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8. Effects of Cerebral Ischemia on the Hippocampus and Memory
R.B. suffered damage to just one part of the hippocampus (CA1 pyramidal cell layer) and developed amnesia.
R.B.’s case suggests that hippocampal damage alone can produce amnesia.
H.M.’s damage and amnesia were more severe than R.B.’s.
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9. Amnesia of Korsakoff’s Syndrome
Korsakoff’s syndrome is most commonly seen in severe alcoholics (or others with a thiamine deficiency).
It is characterized by amnesia, confusion, personality changes, and physical problems.
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10. Where Are Memories Stored? (Con’t)
Damage to a variety of structures results in memory deficits.
Inferotemporal Cortex
Visual perception of objects
Changes in activity seen with visual recall
Amygdala
Emotional learning
Lesions of the amygdalae disrupt fear learning.
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11. Where Are Memories Stored? (Con’t)
Cerebellum and Striatum
Cerebellum
Stores memories of sensorimotor skills
Striatum
Habit formation
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