![]() However, to my knowledge, we are the first to directly test the hypothesis that short-term memory functions better if the information has some past familiarity to the person," said Rotman scientist Dr. "Our findings add to the growing evidence that short-term memory is not intact in amnesia. However, a growing body of scientific evidence, including this latest study, is showing that "working memory" is also impaired in this population. That is exactly what we found."Īmnestic individuals have profound deficits in long term memory and yet many seem to function fine by relying on their short-term memory which has traditionally been thought to be intact. ![]() "We wanted to test if HC's short-term memory was impaired, and, if so, whether this impairment only existed for novel stimuli. This provides an extraordinary opportunity to generate new insights about how this crucial memory centre of the brain affects both short-term and long-term memory," said lead investigator Nathan Rose, a post-doctoral fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience at Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute. "This woman is missing 50 percent of the normal volume of her hippocampus with no obvious damage to other parts of her brain. When information is already "familiar" from past repetitive exposure, it is more likely to be retained in short-term memory, also known as "working memory."ĭespite HC's severe memory impairment - the result of experiencing hypoxia (loss of oxygen) in the first week of life - she is a relatively normal functioning individual and college graduate, who is an avid film buff and celebrity watcher. The study provides the first strong evidence that the short-term memory deficit in amnestic individuals is most apparent only when the individual is trying to recall new information that is "unfamiliar" to them. It is considered an important finding for understanding the nuanced workings of short-term memory in people with a devastating memory disorder such as amnesia. The study is posted online in the journal Neuropsychologia, ahead of print publication. The single case study with the woman was led by Baycrest's Rotman Research Institute, in collaboration with the University of Toronto. Moreover, HC's short-term memory was even impaired for faces that were famous, but whom HC did not know, such as former U.S. ![]() ![]() When presented with a face such as Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton and asked to recognize the face a few seconds later, the woman could remember A-list party girl Hilton, but she was unable to remember novel, unfamiliar faces as well as healthy age, education and IQ matched control participants. ![]()
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