Short Term Memory Analysis

Mike Dobrejcak moved to the United States as a young boy. He wanted to become involved in all of American culture and values. Mike dived into American culture, he applied to be a citizen and participate in all that citizenship had to offer. He was eager to discuss politics and elections. Mike worked hard to perfect his English and education. He worked hard in the mills for his money. Mike’s life was a constant hope for a better future. He dreamed of owning a nice house and not worrying about money but his worrying never ceased. He never achieved the life he dreamed about. Mike’s life became more meaningful when he married Mary, he also wanted a better future for his children. Mike’s ability to be involved in politics and social culture in the United States gave his life more meaning, or a purpose; he worked for a better life. Although Mike constantly worked and hoped for a better life, he was never given that opportunity. He worried about money constantly

Amnesia can occur in many different forms depending on the damage caused to specific areas of the brain. Korsakoff’s syndrome is a memory disorder that is caused by a thiamine deficiency and id usually seen by people with heavy alcohol consumption (Breedlove, Watson & Rosenzweig, 2013). Medial-temporal lobectomy is the cutting of areas of the anterior temporal lobe such as the hippocampus and amygdala and this can cause long-term anterograde amnesia (Salmon, Haymon-Abello, Connolly, & McLachlan, 2014). This paper will examine both Korsakoff’s syndrome and medial-temporal lobectomy to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between the two and how they can both impact a person’s life.

Additionally, to further support these theories, researchers tend to conduct studies on the famous patient case, HM, to propose the consolidation deficit theory, in which those with amnesia cannot turn short-term memories into long-term memories (Dewar et al., 2010). However, researchers Dewar, Della Sala, Beschin, and Cowan (2010), mentioned that HM’s case does not fully explain why a patient with anterograde amnesia has the ability to get better at cognitive tasks despite being unable to recall having performed those tasks at a previous time. On the same hand, Duff, Wszalek, Tranel, and Cohen (2008) mentioned that most individuals with anterograde amnesia experience heightened intelligence, attention, skill, and reasoning levels (procedural memory).

No one chooses to cross the border unless there are absolutely no other options. Many Mexicans choose to either downplay the event or not talk about it at all. The act of crossing the border is laden with powerful symbolism – to Americans, it represents a larger willingness of Mexicans to violate the law. However, if people knew the true story, of the risks, and what it takes to cross the border, then they would have a different perspective. For most people, when you cross the border, you have to pay thousands of dollars to the “coyote,” people who specialize in human trafficking and importing immigrants across the U.S.-Mexican border. If you are traveling with a child, there is a high chance that you will not be able to cross with them. Although

After a motor vehicle accident Tom was left with an acquired brain injury with damage to the frontal lobe and the left temporal lobe. As a result Tom has been experiencing many difficulties, in particular with his memory. Memory refers to the mental capacity to retain information and convert it into a form that can be stored and retrieved at a later time. Storing and retrieving memories involves passing information from one stage to the next and then retrieving that information from long-term memory. (Burton, Westen & Kowalski, 2012, p.261) Memory is an integral part of human survival and without it, learning new skills, such as the ones required by Tom to regain his loss of function, could never prevail.

One of the most famous case studies of amnesia in the history is HM who was suffering from epileptic seizures and had a surgery when he was only nine years old that removed 2/3 of his hippocampus, medial temporal lobes, parahippocampal gyrus and amygdala. The operation was successful in its primary goal of controlling his epilespsy but as a result of the operation he suffered from severe anterograde amnesia. After the operation, he could not commit new events to long-term memory. He could remember events from before the operation for the rest of his life. His working memory and procedural memory were intact. After the operation,

One reason why neuropsychologists study brain lesion patients is that it enables us to identify double dissociations within complex cognitive functions, for example: memory. Memory involves several multifarious components and modalities which makes it a very difficult process to investigate. In addition, memory has more than one distinct process. In order to gain a detailed understanding of specific memory processes, brain lesion patients have to be studied. Healthy participants also play an important role in discovering double dissociations in memory as they can act as the control group for comparisons but they do not allow researchers to establish specific localisations. Double dissociations provide neurological evidence that a patient has

However, he will not be able to recall learning the tasks or be able to remember the test materials. Due to predicted challenges with free recall but average recognition memory, it hypothesized that UB’s results will suggest that he has problems with retrieval. Additionally, UB will likely have deficits in long-term memory based on his anterograde amnesia.

Back when H.M. was seven he was in an accident with a bicyclist, this began this patients journey of medical mishaps including seizures and amnesia. At age ten the seizures start and at sixteen they became more intense. He attempted to work but by 27 even that would be too much because of his seizures. After much consideration Doctor Scoville was able to convince H.M. to undergo bilateral medial temporal lobe resection, which is common knowledge but I will explain anyway. It is a procedure done on the brain to separate the temporal lobe tissue to reduce seizures. After the procedure Doctor Millner noticed that while the procedure worked for the seizures there was an incredible amount of memory deficiency, to the extent of forgetting things

Kritchevsky, M., Chang J., & Squire, L. (2004). Functional Amnesia: Clinical description and neuropsychological profile of 10 cases. Learning and Memory, Chapter 11: 213-226.

◦Car accidents, bike accidents, falls, abusing alcohol, and using illegal drugs can injure the brain and cause memory problems.

Other forms of neurocognitive disorders include trauma, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease (Grohol, 2015). Huntington’s disease is a genetic disorder that affects specific nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. This disease occurs in earlier years, typically between the ages of 30-40 and symptoms include “changes in personality including anxiety and irritability, a severe decline in cognition, and weakness affecting gait” (Swierzerski, 2014). Traumatic brain injuries occur from some form of head trauma and symptoms are determined by the part of the brain that’s affected but can include “difficulty coordinating movements, problems with speech, and/or memory impairments”. Individuals with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease can also often times also develop symptoms of dementia in addition to tremor symptoms

Enrichment Design Summary The implementation of environmental enrichment for mice is an important consideration when housing this species. Mice are curious and social mammals that are constantly exploring their surroundings, which aids in the development of both their mental and physical health. Because of their innate drive to climb, burrow, nest, and seek out food, enrichment for this species should allow them to act upon these natural behaviours. A climbing house for mice will provide safe enrichment, including stimulation and problem solving, access to food, abundant exercise, and the ability to hide and nest.

Memory- Long and short term both need to be examined. Short term memory impairment will result in difficulties in remembering and following directions. Long term memory can be examined by asking historical questions and short term memory can be examined by asking a patient to recall a series of words or numbers. There are optimal values that help determine whether or not a person has an impairment. This examination should take place because healthcare professionals need to know the current state of the person they are working with.