Impaired event memory and recollection in a case of developmental amnesia

Author: Rosenbaum R. S.   Carson N.   Abraham N.   Bowles B.   Kwan D.   Köhler S.   Svoboda E.   Levine B.   Richards B.  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1355-4794

Source: Neurocase, Vol.17, Iss.5, 2011-10, pp. : 394-409

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

A current debate in the literature is whether all declarative memories and associated memory processes rely on the same neural substrate. Here, we show that H.C., a developmental amnesic person with selective bilateral hippocampal volume loss, has a mild deficit in personal episodic memory, and a more pronounced deficit in public event memory; semantic memory for personal and general knowledge was unimpaired. This was accompanied by a subtle difference in impairment between recollection and familiarity on lab-based tests of recognition memory. Strikingly, H.C.'s recognition did not benefit from a levels-of-processing manipulation. Thus, not all types of declarative memory and related processes can exist independently of the hippocampus even if it is damaged early in life.